Dear Community,

Thank you for tuning into our November newsletter! There is a lot going on in the environmental justice (EJ) world and we are hoping to bring you the latest events and updates — all in one place. Please submit newsletter feedback and idea topics to DEEP.EJ@ct.gov or the linked form below.  

November is Native American Heritage Month to honor the rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories of Native American communities across the United States. Connecticut is home to 5 recognized Tribal Nations, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, Mohegan Tribe, Golden Hill Paugussett Tribal Nation, Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, and the Schaghticoke Tribe. To learn more about these Nations, click here. The New Haven Public Library has also put together an annotated list of online resources to explore. To visit, click here.

Gratefully yours,

Office of Equity and Environmental Justice

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS 

DEEP is seeking a Community Resource Hubs Senior Policy Advisor! This individual will help bridge the gap between DEEP and the communities we serve. Among coordinating the Community Resource Hubs, this position will also provide advice to the Commissioner and DEEP leadership to ensure community engagement is integrated across all DEEP programs and work to develop new and more effective strategies for outreach and engagement. Application deadline is November 12th, 2025. For more information, click here.

In an effort to deliver more easily accessible Federal and State Funding opportunities (Goal 15 in 20BY26), DEEP launched the Grants and Financial Assistance dashboard and the Grants 101 page. These resources provide available funding opportunities, an overview of DEEP’s contracting process, and support for navigating the funding process for all grantseekers. To learn more, click here. 

CEEJAC NEWS

Connecticut Equity and Environmental Justice Advisory Council (CEEJAC) within DEEP, established by Governor Lamont’s 21-3 Executive Order, advises the Commissioner of DEEP on current and historic environmental injustice, pollution reduction, energy equity, climate change mitigation and resiliency, health disparities, and racial inequity. All are welcome to attend and participate in CEEJAC meetings.

Please Join CEEJAC at Our Upcoming Meeting: 
CEEJAC Quarterly Meeting (Hybrid)
December 2025 | Time TBD
Location TBD

FEATURED EVENTS

DEEP Holiday Tour Programs Begin at Osbornedale State Park and Gillette Castle State Park | November 28 - December 20

Osborne Homestead Museum: For three weeks each winter, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's Osborne Homestead Museum is transformed into a holiday showcase! Talented and dedicated volunteers beautifully decorate the rooms in this historic homestead. During this holiday festivity, guests enjoy creative decorations and imaginative themes that change annually. For more information, click here.

• Thursdays - Sundays: 10:00am to 4:00pm
• Holiday Twilight Tours: December 5, December 12, and December 19 ~ 4:00 to 7:00pm

Gillette Castle: Castle tours are self-guided and take approximately one hour. Due to the limited number of daily tour tickets, we strongly recommend that you pre-book your tickets in advance. For more information, click here. 

• Friday - Sunday: 10:00am to 3:30pm

Other Events 

• 11/5/25 (virtual): This meeting will introduce The Nature Conservancy’s salt marsh restoration efforts at Rocky Neck, and the public will introduce the park to the project team through interactive sessions. For more information, click here. 
• 11/6/25 (New Haven): Join the Yale Clean Energy Collaborative for the 2025 Yale Clean Energy Conference from Nov 6 - 8, 2025. For more information, click here. 
• 11/13/2025 (Storrs): UConn is holding their fifth biennial Native Plants and Pollinators Conference. Learn how native plants support pollinator health throughout the year. For more information, click here.  
• 11/15/25 (Bridgeport): CT Food Sovereignty Collective is hosting Our Food Our Future to build collective power for regenerative, democratic, interdependent food systems in Bridgeport and throughout the state. More information to come. 
• SAVE THE DATE: February 7, 2026 - 20th Anniversary of Winter Festival, Burr Pond State Park in Torrington. Details to follow.  

Tribal News

Events 

Puneesuwak Our Veterans | November 8th
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation is hosting Puneesuwak “Honoring” Our Veterans to unite and honor Native and non-Native Americans who have bravely served side by side in the U.S. Armed Forces for more than 200 years. For more information, click here. 

Beading Work | November 15th
The Institute for American Indian Studies (IAIS) is holding a beading workshop, hosted by IAIS Educator Irene Norman (Mohawk descent). For thousands of years, Native peoples have decorated clothing and items with materials found in nature, such as shells, stones, seeds and porcupine quills. In more recent centuries, multi-colored glass beads have become a favorite medium, as well. Participants will create earrings featuring dentalium shells. For more information, click here. 

Annual Holiday Market | November 29th
Shop for one-of-a-kind holiday gifts from local and Native American vendors selling crafts and jewelry. Take advantage of this time to meet and speak with artists while learning about contemporary Native American art and cultures. Stop by to purchase gourds, pottery, jewelry, rattles, artworks, flutes, and more! For more information, click here.

• Saturday, November 29 & Sunday, November 30 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
• Saturday, December 13 & Sunday, December 14 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
• Saturday, December 6 & Sunday, December 7 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM

We hope to include more Tribal related news, funding opportunities, and resources to include in the EJ newsletter. Please reach out to Danielle Russell (danielle.russell@ct.gov) with any resources you'd like featured. 

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

For funding for environmental justice projects around New England, explore the new EJ Funding and Financing Navigator. 

For DEEP grant programs, explore DEEP's Grants and Financial Assistance page. 

• 11/3/25 deadline: Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program provides financial assistance to municipalities and nonprofit land conservation organizations to acquire land for open space, and to water companies to acquire land to be classified as Class I or Class II water supply property. For more information, click here.
  • Eligible entities: Municipalities, non-profit land conservation organizations (e.g., land trust), or water companies
  • Funding amount: See Guidelines and FAQ PDF
  • Contact: Allyson Clarke at Allyson.Clarke@ct.gov or (860) 424-3774
• 12/10/25 deadline: Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Grant Program provides funding toward control/management projects, research projects, and education and outreach projects related to aquatic invasive species and cyanobacteria. 
  • Eligible entities: state agencies, municipalities, and not-for-profit organizations.
  • Funding amount: $10,000 to $75,000
  • Contact: Madeline Ortiz at DEEP.AISGrants@ct.gov
• 12/12/25 deadline: EPA Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFT) Grants for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia seeks to fund projects focused on improving solid waste management and recycling infrastructure. For more information, click here. 
  • Eligible entities: Indian Tribes as defined in 33 U.S.C. 4201 and section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, including Alaskan Native Villages and former Indian reservations in Oklahoma. Intertribal consortia are also eligible to apply.
  • Funding amount: $100,000 to $1.5 million per award 
• 12/5/25 deadline: Brownfield Redevelopment grant is to to administer to brownfield sites in Connecticut to perform I) environmental assessments and II) cleanup activities. 
  • Eligible entities: Municipalities and nonprofits 
  • Funding amount: up to $250,000 for assessment and up to $250,000 for clean-up
  • Contact: Amanda Limacher at Amanda.Limacher@ct.gov
• Extended deadline - 12/14/25: Urban Green and Community Gardens Grant Program provides funding assistance to develop or enhance urban green spaces for public enjoyment and/or environmental education. Promotion of open space in an urban setting may include, but may not be limited to, the development of a community garden or reclaiming and enhancing existing open space for the public's use. For more information, click here.
  • Eligible entities: Municipalities or non-profit organizations with a project site within a Distressed Municipality, Targeted Investment Community, or an EJ Community.
  • Funding amount: Applicants must have funds available or funding sources available for 50% of the anticipated total project cost. See Guidelines and FAQ PDF for more information.
  • Contact: Steven Perry at Steven.Perry@ct.gov or (860) 424-3603
• 1/15/26 deadline: DEEP Climate Resilience Fund is making available up to $44 million in state and federal funds to support planning, project advancement, and construction to help Connecticut’s communities build resilience to extreme weather.
  • Eligible entities: Municipal governments, Councils of Government, neighborhood organizations, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, public utilities, state and federally recognized Tribal 
    nations.
  • Funding amount: $25,000 to $250,000 but may be adjusted
  • Contact: DEEP.ClimateResilience@ct.gov. For more information, click here.

Note: Applicants should submit Letters of Interest as soon as possible if they will be seeking implementation funds under the new Deployment funding category, which includes the Matching Funds for Community Resilience program and the Draft Energy Construction RFP. For details on how to submit Letters of Interest, please see the Notice of Funding Opportunity and Draft Energy Construction RFP announcement. 

• Rolling deadline: New England Grassroots Environment Fund provides funding for groups launching new projects or starting to significantly change the direction of an existing project.  
  • Eligible entities: Groups doing local, grassroots work in CT, ME, MA, NH, RI or VT. 501c3 status is not required. 
  • Funding amount: $500 - $1,000.  
  • Contact: Tess Beem, tess@grassrootsfund.org. For more information, click here. 
• Rolling deadline: Ben & Jerry's Foundation Grassroots Organizing National Grant Program provides support to community-based, grassroots organizations confronting social and environmental injustice.
  • Eligible entities: 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organizations 
  • Funding: Two-year unrestricted, general operating support grants of up to $30,000 per year, with an average grant size of $20,000 per year, to small (budgets under $350,000), constituent-led grassroots organizations throughout the U.S. and its territories.
  • Contact: Dana Jeffery at info@benandjerrysfoundation.org 802-495-1378. For more information, click here.

FEATURED JOBS

• 11/06/2025: Administrative Assistant; Department of Energy and Environmental protection
• 11/12/2025: Community Resource Hubs Senior Policy Advisor; Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
• 11/25/2025: Environmental Protection Dispatcher; Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

Click here to read past DEEP Equity & EJ Newsletters

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to complying with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please contact us at (860) 418-5910 or deep.accommodations@ct.gov if you: have a disability and need a communication aid or service; have limited proficiency in English and may need information in another language; or if you wish to file an ADA or Title VI discrimination complaint. Any person needing a hearing accommodation may call the State of Connecticut relay number - 711. In order to facilitate efforts to provide an accommodation, please request all accommodations as soon as possible following notice of any agency hearing, meeting, program or event. 

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