Hands-On Restoration

Fish, birds, and other wildlife depend on clean rivers and a healthy Sound, just like people do—and policy change alone isn’t enough to address the difficult issues our waterways face. Direct, shovels-in-the-ground action is essential. Our Ecological Restoration Team brings together people and nature—using our expertise in ecological restoration—to manage projects that restore and protect Long Island Sound for people and animals.

Through collaboration with community partners in Connecticut, Westchester County, and Long Island, Save the Sound designs and builds projects that restore rivers and coastal marshes, make rivers accessible to people and migrating fish, and reduces water pollution by helping to create greener cities that are more resilient to climate change.

Dam removals and fishway installations, rain garden design and plantings, coastal clean-ups, and living shorelines that protect communities—these are all hands-on restoration tasks our Ecological Restoration Team uses to restore Long Island Sound, the dunes and marshes that ring it, and the rivers that flow to it.

Volunteers at Long Wharf Nature Preserve in New Haven during last year’s International Coastal Cleanup

We engage our neighbors in our restoration projects to cultivate environmental stewardship. Through hands-on workshops and volunteer opportunities, we demonstrate the possibilities to inspire the next generation of environmental leaders. Together, we can improve the landscape of Long Island Sound and protect the beauty and abundance of this crucial resource for future generations.

Check out the time-lapse video above of a dam removal in Mystic, CT, along with the restoration of the riverbank and native plants.

Explore Further

Our Restoration Victories

ReduceRunoff.org


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Thursday, March 21 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
What parameters does Save the Sound's water quality lab measure to assess the health of our beaches, bays, and harbors? Learn more during this virtual tour. Free for members, $25 for non-members. Register today.

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