Connecticut has nearly 100 miles of coastline and is traversed by several rivers. The state\u2019s name even comes from the Algonquin word for \u201clong tidal river.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maritime ecosystems play an essential role in Connecticut\u2019s geography, economy, culture, and history. University of Connecticut associate professor of geography Nathaniel Trumbull, associate professor of agricultural and resource economics Syma Ebbin, associate professor of history Helen Rozwadowski, and associate professor of English Mary K. Bercaw Edwards will look to highlight the importance of some of Connecticut\u2019s maritime sites with the creation of a Blue Heritage Trail.<\/p>\n
This $40,000 project funded by the Department of the Interior and the University of Connecticut\u2019s Office of Public Engagement will create a maritime heritage trail that runs through southeast Connecticut, focusing on the Thames River Heritage Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis funded project came out of a critical\u00a0seed grant from the UConn Office of Public Engagement more than a year ago,\u201d Trumbull says.\u00a0\u201cWithout that seed grant, we would not have had the matching funding to apply for this larger\u00a0National Park Service\u00a0grant.\u201d<\/p>\n The trail will lead visitors through a variety of cultural and historical locations including military and battle sites of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and both World Wars. The informational panels to be installed at these sites will provide an enriched educational experience for visitors. People will be able to read about the events that took place decades or even centuries ago and imagine scenes of armies advancing, bayonets in hand, and cannon balls hailing down onto the very spot where they stand.<\/p>\n The trail will detail the geographic assets that have been critical to Connecticut\u2019s economic development. The harbors, bays, and coastlines that rim the state have afforded Connecticut profitable fishing and industrial opportunities. Connecticut fishers harvest many varieties of fish and shellfish and others engage in a burgeoning aquaculture industry, growing several species of shellfish and seaweeds. Groton, known as the \u201cSubmarine Capital of the World,\u201d is home to General Dynamics Electric Boat facility, which is responsible for building many of the country\u2019s submarines.<\/p>\n The trail will help educate visitors on the current and historical usage of the plant and animal life within these marine ecosystems as well. The U.N. Food & Agriculture Organization reported in 2016 that nearly 90 percent<\/a> of global fish stocks are fully fished or overfished, posing a clear danger to the sustainability of the industry and the marine populations and ecosystems that contribute vitally to fisheries. The informational panels posted along the trail will highlight research studying various fisheries, shellfish activities, and aquaculture operations to create more sustainable futures.<\/p>\n Visitors will be able to use the IZI Travel app on their smartphones or tablets or scan QR codes off the panels and learn more about the sites.<\/p>\n Trumbull and his colleagues hope this project will help people develop a more complete understanding and appreciation for the significant role maritime sites and activities have played, and continue to play, in the history and development of the nation as well as the state of Connecticut through this interactive, informal educational experience.<\/p>\n \u201cDeveloping this Connecticut Blue Trail has been a great opportunity to engage with other maritime partners and learn how we can best serve this community,\u201d Ebbin says.\u00a0\u201cOur partnership with the Thames River Heritage Park has been especially critical in allowing us to implement our ideas in concert with existing regional efforts. We\u2019re all looking forward to seeing what we\u2019re able to produce.\u201d<\/p>\n This grant is part of the DOI National Maritime Heritage Grants Program. No. P17AP00445<\/em><\/p>\n Follow UConn Research on Twitter<\/a> & LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Connecticut has nearly 100 miles of coastline and is traversed by several rivers. A new UConn-led multidisciplinary project will create a maritime heritage trail that runs through southeast Connecticut.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":138972,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2226,2076],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2140],"class_list":["post-138971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clas","category-research"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-22 11:19:58","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/138972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138971"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=138971"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=138971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}