Nature - Community - Science
Introduction
Meriden’s natural resources are crucial to the community and all living creatures they support. The City of Meriden has over 3,000 acres of municipally-owned park space and 74 different recreational areas. Natural resources provide numerous services to all life.
The Meriden Natural Resources Inventory aims to provide information regarding the different services that the area's natural resources provide. An NRI summarizes scientific descriptions of necessary, naturally occurring resources. It is a document that includes all the natural resources (land, soil, water, plants, animals, etc.) in any area. The NRI supports decisions and actions to protect, restore, and enhance the natural environment and promote greater community appreciation and enjoyment of nature.
The Meriden Natural Resources Inventory is a living document, as the environment around us is constantly changing. The document contains chapters that account for numerous resources in Meriden, including soils, water resources, public parks, etc. The goals and objectives of MNRI are listed below, and a table of contents can be found here.
The NRI aims to chart a more sustainable future for Meriden by maintaining our environmental well-being while encouraging appreciation of nature’s benefits and value.
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Compile summaries of scientific data describing Meriden’s Natural Resources.
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Assess and monitor the well-being of Meriden’s environment through surveys and scientific data.
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Encourage the use of apps like iNaturalist and eBird to capture nature observations by residents and visitors.
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Provide resources for Meriden officials to support decisions and policies that produce positive outcomes for nature.
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Promote action by Meriden residents, businesses, and officials that benefit our environment.
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Help volunteers increase awareness, protection, and enjoyment of Meriden's natural resources.
A healthy environment leads to a healthy community. Our natural resources present many opportunities and ecosystem services that we interact with daily: clean air and water, sediment control of erosion, supporting species habitat, etc.
The Meriden NRI presents information to increase community awareness about all the city has to offer and why we should protect these resources.
Resources