Local environmental group Save the Sound launched the new Alexander Center for Ecological Action on Wednesday, which brings together its Ecological Restoration program and the Doherty Climate and Resilience Institute to “build a healthier future for the Long Island Sound region through innovation and leadership”. The Alexander Center for Ecological Action was funded by the Libby and Robert Alexander family of Rye. The two live on Milton Point and Libby Alexander serves as the commodore at American Yacht Club. The launch event was held at the Jay Heritage Center.
The Alexander Center will be based out of Save the Sound’s offices in Larchmont and New Haven and will work across the Sound region.
“You can’t take the water for granted,” said Libby Alexander, who met her husband Robert at a sailing regatta when be was an undergraduate at Boston University and she was an undergraduate at Tulane University. “You rely on it, but it’s not something that belongs to you. It’s something you interact with that is so much bigger than anyone can fathom. For us as both sailors and boaters, it provides us with immense meaning, connection, and joy. We are excited to make this investment to catalyze the resilience and restoration work of Save the Sound along Long Island Sound, including its rivers and shores.”
“At the Alexander Center for Ecological Action we are focused on impact and action to get real things done,” said Laura Wildman, vice president for the Alexander Center for Ecological Action at Save the Sound. “This center will support our Ecological Restoration team as we mobilize partners and resources to restore self-sustaining ecological systems, and it will support the Doherty Climate and Resilience Institute in educating the public and advocating for climate change mitigation and resiliency solutions. The combination of these two programs will strengthen our ability to protect and preserve the Long Island Sound region’s environment. We’re incredibly grateful for Libby and Robert’s generosity and vision to do this work in a unified way for future generations.”
Save the Sound’s Ecological Restoration team leads hands-on projects that remove obsolete dams, install green infrastructure, and build living shorelines that protect coasts from rising seas. From restoring river connectivity through the Blind Brook dam removal in Rye, to preventing runoff pollution from entering waterways through urban stormwater biofiltration at Haven & Exchange in New Haven, to rebuilding coastal marsh at Sunken Meadow State Park on Long Island, the Alexander Center will bring together science, partnerships, and communities to restore the Sound’s natural defenses. The Henry L. and Grace Doherty Climate and Resilience Institute is Save the Sound’s place-based climate change hub, which is aimed at cutting climate pollution, protecting our habitats, and stabilizing shorelines, using data and metrics to educate the public, mobilize stakeholders, and highlight nature-based solutions.
The Alexanders are longtime supporters of Save the Sound. They have guided the Soundkeeper Task Force and formed the Ecological Restoration program in New York. Libby Alexander has served as a Save the Sound board member and is now chair of the Sound Future Campaign Committee.
