In fall 2024, the Reel Quest Films team was hired by the Connecticut Chapter of The Nature Conservancy to produce a 4-part docuseries to showcase the important work the Long Island Sound Coastal Watershed Network is doing to tackle pollution in the Sound. The videos were created to educate people about the ways they can reduce their environmental impact and raise awareness about the threats that exist throughout this fragile ecosystem.

The series includes three videos about pollution—Bacteria and Pathogens, Marine Debris, and Nitrogen—and one video about the ways the network is employing nature-based solutions to reduce pollution from reaching the Sound. The film crew interviewed experts from all over Connecticut and New York, including staff at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Save the Sound, UCONN, Nassau County Soil & Water Conservation District, and the Bridgeport West Side Sewage Treatment Plant.

The series premiered on March 27, 2025, at the Long Island Sound Summit in Connecticut and was shown again in April at the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission Conference in Maine. When presented as part of a panel discussion or conference workshop, educational videos like these act as a vehicle for meaningful discussions and provide lasting takeaways that ripple throughout communities and beyond.

Bacteria & Pathogens

Join Nikki Spiller (Harbor Watch), Evelyn Powers (Interstate Environmental Commission), and Peter Linderoth (Save the Sound) as they talk about their work monitoring sources of bacteria and pathogens to improve the safety and quality of water entering Long Island Sound.

Marine Debris

Join Scott Curatolo-Wagemann (Cornell Cooperative Extension) and Justin Susarchick (The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk) as they talk about the problems associated with derelict lobster traps in Long Island Sound, and how they are working to get them out.

Nitrogen

Join Jamie Vaudrey (UCONN) and Holly Drinkuth (The Nature Conservancy) to learn about the impacts of lawn fertilizer on coastal waters. Then, head across the Sound to Nassau County, New York to hear from Derek Betts (Nassau County Soil & Water Conservation District) and Bill Bleyer (Author, historian, and resident of Bayville) about the S.E.P.T.I.C. program that is improving removal of nitrogen from wastewater and saving residents money. Finally, ferry back to Bridgeport, CT to tour Black Rock Harbor and the West Side Sewage Treatment Plant, which is planning significant upgrades that will improve storage capacity and reduce the amount of nitrogen that is discharged into Long Island Sound.

Nature-based Solutions

Join Adrienne Esposito (Citizens Campaign for the Environment), and Rusty Schmidt and Cassandra Castano (Nelson Pope Voorhis) as they install a rain garden with help from the community in the Village of Northport on Long Island. Then, head across the Sound to Groton, Connecticut to hear from Tim Clark (The Nature Conservancy), Cierra Patrick (City of Groton), and Beth Kirmmse (Fuss & O’Neil) about the nature-based solutions being designed to capture polluted stormwater and remediate the city’s severe flooding issues.

Did You Know?

In 2023, Reel Quest Films produced Reconnected: Restoring the Rivers of Long Island Sound for nonprofit Save the Sound. In 2025, the film screened at multiple locations in New England as part of the Wild and Scenic Film Festival. Check out the film here.