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2 weeks ago | 
ctpublic.org | Jennifer Ahrens
Published June 11, 2025 at 12:21 PM EDT In all of 2024, Mystic Aquarium's Animal Rescue Program (ARP) helped 22 entangled seals. In the first five months of this year, they've already passed that number with 25, and all but two were from around Block Island. The marine mammals can become tied up and injured by a number of man-made objects. “It's fishing gear that we're seeing a lot of, netting, rope, twine.
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2 weeks ago | 
m.farms.com | Jennifer Ahrens
By Jennifer AhrensGood weather conditions in April and May caused Connecticut strawberry fields to ripen earlier than normal, which meant berry picking season started in late May this year. But farmers warn pick-your-own berry enthusiasts to act fast, because picking season, which only lasts a few weeks, will end sooner than usual.
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3 weeks ago | 
ctpublic.org | Jennifer Ahrens
Published June 6, 2025 at 10:53 AM EDT Good weather conditions in April and May caused Connecticut strawberry fields to ripen earlier than normal, which meant berry picking season started in late May this year. But farmers warn pick-your-own berry enthusiasts to act fast, because picking season, which only lasts a few weeks, will end sooner than usual.
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3 weeks ago | 
nhpr.org | Jennifer Ahrens
The nation's top public health agency posted new recommendations that say healthy children and pregnant women may get COVID-19 vaccinations, removing stronger language that those groups should get the shots. The change comes days after U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.
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3 weeks ago | 
ctpublic.org | Jennifer Ahrens
Published June 3, 2025 at 4:05 PM EDT The nation's top public health agency posted new recommendations that say healthy children and pregnant women may get COVID-19 vaccinations, removing stronger language that those groups should get the shots. The change comes days after U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.
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1 month ago | 
ctpublic.org | Jennifer Ahrens
Published May 27, 2025 at 12:05 PM EDT Before peonies bloom in spring their unopened flower buds produce a nectar that feeds a tiny wasp called a Spring Tiphia. These shiny, black, solitary wasps are about half an inch long and are harmless to humans, but deadly to grass-killing Japanese beetle larvae, commonly called grubs. After feeding on nectar in May and early June and then mating, the female wasp burrows into the ground in search of grubs to lay her eggs on.
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2 months ago | 
nhpr.org | Jennifer Ahrens
State environmental officials said black bears entered at least 67 homes last year, setting a state record. “A decade ago, we had less than 10, so bears have learned very, very quickly that people are a source of food and that's not a good thing,” said Jenny Dickson, Wildlife Division director for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. DEEP is urging Connecticut residents to take down bird feeders and secure garbage to prevent attracting bears to their yards.
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Mar 18, 2025 | 
nhpr.org | Jennifer Ahrens
As the weather warms and daylight hours grow, you might be tempted to get outside and start cleaning up your lawn. But raking or mowing last year’s leaves too soon in the spring can kill a key group of creatures in Connecticut’s food web. "Insects still have yet to come out of hibernation – or fulfill their life cycle – and most of them are going to be in leaf matter or in hollow stems of our perennials or shrubs," said Stefan Martin, the conservation manager for the Connecticut Audubon Society.
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Feb 7, 2025 | 
nhpr.org | Jennifer Ahrens
The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 is being found in many wild birds in many different areas of Connecticut according to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Waterfowl are particularly at risk. “If you're seeing dead geese, if you're seeing dead ducks, if it's near open water, the odds are likely it probably is avian influenza,” DEEP Wildlife Division Director Jenny Dickson said.
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Jan 31, 2025 | 
ctpublic.org | Jennifer Ahrens
Published January 31, 2025 at 4:40 PM EST is considered one of the state’s most significant political and legal documents. It gave royal approval of the colony’s Fundamental Orders of 1639 and it became a piece of Connecticut folklore when King James II tried to revoke the charter in 1687. In response, a colonist allegedly hid it in a large white oak tree, later called the Charter Oak.
