Water Unit
This is the key that students will need to use to identify the freshwater invertebrates that they will find in the Mill River.
- 1. Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Identification-Key2.Pdf - the University Of ..., www.uwa.edu.au/study/-/media/Faculties/Science/Docs/Aquatic-macroinvertebrate-Identification-key2_w.docx. Accessed 2 July 2023.
As the title suggests, this is an overview. I assigned this as whole class reading, which is typically done aloud together.
- 2. Denchak, Melissa. “Water Pollution: Everything You Need to Know.” Water Pollution Definition - Types, Causes, Effects, 11 Jan. 2023, www.nrdc.org/stories/water-pollution-everything-you-need-know#categories.
These are resources relating specifically to the Mill River / industrial operations that have polluted the Mill River – all of these are resources that students can use for research; I wouldn’t necessarily assign any of them as classroom or homework reading:
- 3. Brogard, Allegra. “The Mill River Revival.” The Yale Herald, 22 Aug. 2020, yale-herald.com/2020/01/31/the-mill-river-revival/.
- 4. “Clean up Underway after 2.1 Million Gallons of Sewage Spills in the Mill River.” NBC Connecticut, 8 July 2020, www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/new-haven-mayor-city-health-dept-to-discuss-sewage-spill-in-mill-river/2299485/.
- 5. Gabe LePage, Leah Snavely. “Brownfields in New Haven.” ArcGIS StoryMaps, 14 May 2021, storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e10107f8e5144389918cf2fb41b84e58.
- 6. Passapera, Daniel. “A Look into the Conservation Efforts on Hamden’s Mill River.” Org, 5 Dec. 2022, hqnn.org/2022/12/05/life-flows-through-hamdens-mill-river-and-many-are-trying-to-save-it/.
- 7. “Press Release: Save the Sound Launches Mill River Urban Waters Initiative: Community Outreach, Engagement, and Leadership Program.” Save the Sound, 3 May 2022, www.savethesound.org/press-release-save-the-sound-launches-mill-river-urban-waters-initiative-community-outreach-engagement-and-leadership-program.
- 8. Sai Rayala, 11:53 pm, Apr 08. “Environmental Advisory Council Discusses Toxins near English Station Soil.” Yale Daily News, 9 Apr. 2021, yaledailynews.com/blog/2021/04/08/environmental-advisory-council-discusses-toxins-near-english-station-soil/.
- 9. Stannard, Ed. “Water Seeps from New Haven Power Plant Site into Polluted Mill River.” New Haven Register, 11 Aug. 2019, www.nhregister.com/news/article/Water-seeps-from-New-Haven-power-plant-site-into-14294395.php.
- 10. Walker, Henry. “Polluters Turn Mill River Dirty Blue.” Yale Daily News, 1 Nov. 1971, p. 1.
Topographic map of New Haven:
- 11. “New Haven Topographic Map, Elevation, Terrain.” Topographic Maps, en-gb.topographic-map.com/map-fct13l/New-Haven/?center=41.31712%2C-72.91016. Accessed 2 July 2023.
Resources provided for the Mill River Wikipedia entry project: (5 are also used elsewhere)
- 12. * “New Haven Mill River Planning Study Final Report Final Web.Pdf.” Google Drive, docs.google.com/file/d/0BzUrwcfp8hjRblBiNElKQXBIRDA/edit?pli=1&resourcekey=0-r-Z7P29U-4JDc4AcGP4GPQ. Accessed 3 July 2023.
- 13. Denchak, Melissa. “Water Pollution: Everything You Need to Know.” Water Pollution Definition - Types, Causes, Effects, 11 Jan. 2023, www.nrdc.org/stories/water-pollution-everything-you-need-know#categories.
- 14. Sai Rayala, 11:53 pm, Apr 08. “Environmental Advisory Council Discusses Toxins near English Station Soil.” Yale Daily News, 9 Apr. 2021, yaledailynews.com/blog/2021/04/08/environmental-advisory-council-discusses-toxins-near-english-station-soil/.
- 15. Gabe LePage, Leah Snavely. “Brownfields in New Haven.” ArcGIS StoryMaps, 14 May 2021, storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e10107f8e5144389918cf2fb41b84e58.
- 16. Passapera, Daniel. “A Look into the Conservation Efforts on Hamden’s Mill River.” Org, 5 Dec. 2022, hqnn.org/2022/12/05/life-flows-through-hamdens-mill-river-and-many-are-trying-to-save-it/.
- 17. Brogard, Allegra. “The Mill River Revival.” The Yale Herald, 22 Aug. 2020, yale-herald.com/2020/01/31/the-mill-river-revival/.
- 18. Walker, Henry. “Polluters Turn Mill River Dirty Blue.” Yale Daily News, 1 Nov. 1971, p. 1. “Clean up Underway after 2.1 Million Gallons of Sewage Spills in the Mill River.” NBC Connecticut, 8 July 2020, www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/new-haven-mayor-city-health-dept-to-discuss-sewage-spill-in-mill-river/2299485/.
- 19.Stannard, Ed. “Water Seeps from New Haven Power Plant Site into Polluted Mill River.” New Haven Register, 11 Aug. 2019, www.nhregister.com/news/article/Water-seeps-from-New-Haven-power-plant-site-into-14294395.php.
- 20. “New Haven Topographic Map, Elevation, Terrain.” Topographic Maps, en-gb.topographic-map.com/map-fct13l/New-Haven/?center=41.31712%2C-72.91016. Accessed 2 July 2023.
Air Unit
A summary of a study, not full of technical jargon, explains the link between communities of color and higher exposure to air pollution.
- 21. * “Racial, Ethnic Minorities and Low-Income Groups in U.S. Exposed to Higher Levels of Air Pollution.” News, 24 Jan. 2022, www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/racial-ethnic-minorities-low-income-groups-u-s-air-pollution/.
Emphasizes that it’s race and not income that is the biggest risk factor
- 22. * “People of Color Hardest Hit by Air Pollution from Nearly All Sources.” UW News, www.washington.edu/news/2021/04/28/people-of-color-hardest-hit-by-air-pollution-from-nearly-all-sources/. Accessed 2 July 2023.
Excerpts of this would work for students, but not the entire article. That said, images are great, possibly for projecting to the class, relates to when and how highways were built
- 23. Dottle, Rachael, et al. “Mapping the Past and Future of Urban Highways.” Com, 28 July 2021, www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-urban-highways-infrastructure-racism/.
Mostly for teachers, though excerpts may work well with students. Relates to when and how highways were built.
- 24. * Susaneck, Adam Paul. “Mr. Biden, Tear down This Highway.” The New York Times, 8 Sept. 2022, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/08/opinion/urban-highways-segregation.html.
Good summary of the issues with the two highways, easy to read.
- 25. * Klivans, Laura. “Trucks Are Banned on Oakland’s I-580. These Sixth Graders Wondered Why.” KQED, 1 July 2021, www.kqed.org/news/11879641/trucks-are-banned-on-oaklands-i-580-these-sixth-graders-wondered-why.
GREAT statistics relating race and air pollution. The rest of the article doesn’t apply to the unit, but may be interesting to students.
- 26. Matta, Natasha. “Environmental Racism by the Numbers.” Medium, 25 Mar. 2022, medium.com/environmental-justice-coalition/environmental-racism-by-the-numbers-c7d3ceb7539c.
Useful for whole class reading and to frame discussions:
- 27. “Cars, Trucks, Buses and Air Pollution.” Union of Concerned Scientists, www.ucsusa.org/resources/cars-trucks-buses-and-air-pollution. Accessed 2 July 2023.
- 28. Federal and California Light-Duty Vehicle Emissions Standards for ... - EPA, nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P100XCIV.pdf. Accessed 2 July 2023.
- 29. “A Tale of Two Freeways.” Environmental Defense Fund, www.edf.org/airqualitymaps/oakland/tale-two-freeways. Accessed 2 July 2023.
Used excerpts from these two articles to introduce environmental racism:
- 30. II, Vann R. Newkirk. “Environmental Racism Is Real, According to Trump’s EPA.” The Atlantic, 29 June 2021, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/the-trump-administration-finds-that-environmental-racism-is-real/554315/.
- 31.“What Is Environmental Racism and How Can We Fight It?” World Economic Forum, www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/what-is-environmental-racism-pollution-covid-systemic/. Accessed 2 July 2023.
Videos to show in class during this unit:
Regarding highways:
- 32. YouTube, YouTube, 11 May 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odF4GSX1y3c. Accessed 2 July 2023.
Regarding environmental justice:
- 33. YouTube, YouTube, 4 Aug. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30xLg2HHg8Q. Accessed 2 July 2023.
Resources provided for the letter to the Oakland, CA government project: ( are also used elsewhere)
Resources relating to environmental racism / environmental justice:
- 34. YouTube, YouTube, 4 Aug. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30xLg2HHg8Q. Accessed 2 July 2023.
- 35. II, Vann R. Newkirk. “Environmental Racism Is Real, According to Trump’s EPA.” The Atlantic, 29 June 2021, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/the-trump-administration-finds-that-environmental-racism-is-real/554315/.
- 36. “What Is Environmental Racism and How Can We Fight It?” World Economic Forum, www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/what-is-environmental-racism-pollution-covid-systemic/. Accessed 2 July 2023.
- 37. Matta, Natasha. “Environmental Racism by the Numbers.” Medium, 25 Mar. 2022, medium.com/environmental-justice-coalition/environmental-racism-by-the-numbers-c7d3ceb7539c.
- 38. Dottle, Rachael, et al. “Mapping the Past and Future of Urban Highways.” Com, 28 July 2021, https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-urban-highways-infrastructure-racism/
Resources relating to air pollution:
- 39. “Cars, Trucks, Buses and Air Pollution.” Union of Concerned Scientists, www.ucsusa.org/resources/cars-trucks-buses-and-air-pollution. Accessed 2 July 2023.
- 40. Federal and California Light-Duty Vehicle Emissions Standards for ... - EPA, nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P100XCIV.pdf. Accessed 2 July 2023.
- 41. “A Tale of Two Freeways.” Environmental Defense Fund, www.edf.org/airqualitymaps/oakland/tale-two-freeways. Accessed 2 July 2023.
- 42. * Klivans, Laura. “Trucks Are Banned on Oakland’s I-580. These Sixth Graders Wondered Why.” KQED, 1 July 2021, www.kqed.org/news/11879641/trucks-are-banned-on-oaklands-i-580-these-sixth-graders-wondered-why.
- 43. * EPA, www.epa.gov/mobile-source-pollution. Accessed 3 July 2023.
- 44. * EPA, www.epa.gov/transportation-air-pollution-and-climate-change/smog-soot-and-other-air-pollution-transportation. Accessed 3 July 2023.
- 45. * EPA, www.epa.gov/transportation-air-pollution-and-climate-change. Accessed 3 July 2023.
This video is also pertinent to this project but doesn’t fall neatly into either category:
- 46. YouTube, YouTube, 11 May 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odF4GSX1y3c. Accessed 2 July 2023.
Tree Unit
Great data available about housing in New Haven, lots of graphs and charts:
- 47. “CT Data Story: Housing Segregation in Greater New Haven.” DataHaven, ctdatahaven.org/reports/ct-data-story-housing-segregation-greater-new-haven. Accessed 2 July 2023.
GREAT information about the urban heat island effect, including links it covers a lot of information:
- 48. EPA, www.epa.gov/heatislands/learn-about-heat-islands. Accessed 2 July 2023.
Helpful summary of environmental justice for students who might have missed a class or might just need additional exposure to understand concepts
- 49. * YouTube, YouTube, 26 Jan. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dREtXUij6_c. Accessed 2 July 2023.
Videos to show in class during this unit:
Regarding red lining:
- 50. YouTube, YouTube, 26 Apr. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o-yD0wGxAc. Accessed 2 July 2023.
- 51. YouTube, YouTube, 28 Feb. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt72OXJ8LPQ. Accessed 2 July 2023.
Regarding the urban heat island effect:
- 52. YouTube, YouTube, 4 Aug. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uibxHzqZn-A. Accessed 2 July 2023.
Resources provided for the urban heat island effect reduction project: (2 are also used elsewhere)
- 53. Treekeeper 8 System for New Haven, CT, newhavenct.treekeepersoftware.com/index.cfm?deviceWidth=1669. Accessed 3 July 2023.
- 54. “Urban Resources Initiative.” Urban Resources Initiative, uri.yale.edu/. Accessed 3 July 2023.
- 55. EPA, www.epa.gov/heatislands/learn-about-heat-islands. Accessed 2 July 2023.
- 56. YouTube, YouTube, 4 Aug. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uibxHzqZn-A. Accessed 2 July 2023.
- 57. Friends of East Rock Park. Friends of East Rock Park, friendsofeastrockpark.org/. Accessed 3 July 2023.
- 58. Ariel Bintang, Haonan Li. “East Rock: Factories and Tenements to a Street-Car Suburb.” ArcGIS StoryMaps, 17 Aug. 2021, storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/233e0b73199944fca35739c8c41878bd.
(An asterisk indicates a resource NOT mentioned or linked within the unit itself.)