#LoveYourCTLandTrust
Featuring Connecticut's Amazing Land Trusts
|
|
Greetings!
June is the month when we transition from spring into summer. As a new season approaches, I am also nearing a new point in my career. This marks my last #LoveYourCTLandTrust eNewsletter. I want to thank everyone who has read the stories we shared, collaborated with me on organizing them, and done the amazing work that CLCC can report on monthly.
Being the Sandy Breslin Conservation Fellow for nearly a year has given me experience and knowledge that will last for my entire professional career. I've watched ideas transform into environmental legislation and witnessed all the hard work that goes into advocating for them. I've learned how essential funds like the Community Investment Act are for supporting local conservation efforts. And through writing this eNewsletter, I discovered that community success stories happen when groups come together.
My internship would not have been possible without the partnership between my university and the Connecticut Land Conservation Council. As such, I would like to use my final eNewsletter to showcase some of the conservation projects other students are involved in through collaboration between their schools and nonprofits dedicated to conservation. Their stories teach us that you are never too young to start connecting with nature, and never too inexperienced to make a meaningful impact. I hope this edition of #LoveYourCTLandTrust conveys how vital student engagement is to land conservation.
|
|
As the summer solstice nears, the days grow longer and warmer. Like the sun, our future and the students of Connecticut are bright. We will continue to advocate for the environment, for all people, for equity and justice. We will continue to use our skills to solve the challenges our planet faces. We will continue to love the Earth, its wildlife, and nature itself. Support us— #LoveYourCTLandTrust and promote student involvement in conservation.
As always, thank you for reading.
Sincerely,
Victoria Jaskaran
Sandy Breslin Conservation Fellow
|
|
|
P.S. Please keep those #LoveYourCTLandTrust stories and photos coming. Drop them here and we'll take it from there! |
|
Walls Way Creates Continuous Greenway in East Haddam |
|
On April 15, East Haddam residents Alice and David Walls generously donated a 14-acre property, now known as Walls Way, to East Haddam Land Trust (EHLT). The Walls purchased the wooded property last year to protect it from development and create more hiking trails in the area. Walls Way, which now has a trail, is a strategically-located area that connects two other EHLT properties to create a single conserved space over 300 acres. The large, undisturbed greenway has numerous environmental benefits including carbon storage, flood resilience, biodiversity protection, and climate mitigation, among many others... |
|
Alliance for Mystic River Watershed & The University of Connecticut Climate Corps |
|
Addressing Climate Change in Mystic |
|
Over this past spring, Alliance for Mystic River Watershed collaborated with three students from The University of Connecticut's Climate Corps to complete climate change-related projects in Mystic. The projects were as follows: a Mystic River watershed assessment that identifies the relationship between land use and water quality; a new app that gathers qualitative data about the environment from locals; and a study on local Mystic businesses' needs that helped launch the Resilient Business Consortium. The students' outstanding work is an excellent example of young conservationists getting involved in environmental projects to make a difference in their communities through university and nonprofit partnerships… |
|
Last month, thirteen West Haven High School students presented their "Shoreline Saviors" StoryMap at the Connecticut Science Center during the University of Connecticut's Eco-Digital Storytellers (EDS) program. The Land Trust of West Haven (LTWH) is one of the many organizations involved in the West Haven Shoreline Resilience and Eco-Restoration Project, which the student's StoryMap focuses on. The West Haven students interviewed LTWH to provide information on project outcomes and how to volunteer. Through their collaboration, the students were able to create a StoryMap that promotes local conservation efforts... |
|
Townshend Family Donates Pomfret Property |
|
"Our parents loved nature and history, both of which are bountiful on this property. Every person walking along the trails, taking in the beauty and grace of the fern-covered forest and babbling brooks, is paying homage to Harry and Deb Townshend, who so loved their land."
- Nancy Townshend-Vess
Last month, the Townshend family kindly donated a 227-acre property to Wyndham Land Trust (WLT). The property near Ragged Hill Road in Pomfret was protected to memorialize Harry and Deb Townshend and provide open space to the community. The donation further expands the Nightingale Forest, an area WLT works to protect for the nearby wetlands that serve as a bird habitat. In honor of the Townshend family's love of equestrian events, WLT will host an annual Ride for Open Space. This land was conserved with support from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program and the Connecticut Land Conservation Council's Transaction Assistance Grant Program, in addition to other sponsors... |
|
State Support for Wilcox-Bushley Homestead |
|
“These funds will allow us to expand our outreach to the Greater Hartford region and increase access to nature and environmental education.”
- Francie Brown Holmes, president of the Farmington Land Trust Board
|
|
|
Last week, the Connecticut State Bond Commission, chaired by Governor Ned Lamont, approved $250,000 in funding for the Farmington Land Trust’s Wilcox-Bushley Homestead, a 24-acre property near the West District School. The funding will support renovations that protect the historic property, which dates back to 1880. The funds will also be used for educational programs at the environmental learning center that teach young people about the importance of land conservation and stewardship. The State Bond Commission funds were announced by Senator Derek Slap, Senator Rick Lopes, and Representative Mike Demicco... |
|
Featured on the Open Trails Podcast |
|
On June 1st, the Open Trail Podcast released its sixth episode titled “Land Trusts 101.” The episode features the podcast’s host Max Dougan—whose hometown is Manchester, Connecticut—interviewing Dermot Jones and Susan Barlow of Manchester Land Conservation Trust (MLCT). The episode delves into what a land trust is, how it functions, and what goals it has in addition to what MLCT does and why listeners should support their own local land trusts. The podcast aims to support conservation efforts in the Northeast… |
|
You Make It All Possible...
CLCC is a community-supported organization - you are the engine behind these eNewsletters and our ability to bolster the work of CT land trusts.
Thank You
|
|
Photo Credits
David and Alice Walls Posing By Walls Way Sign courtesy of East Haddam Land Trust
Great Blue Heron courtesy of Lindsay Pettinicchi
West Haven High School Students Posing Together courtesy of the Land Trust of West Haven
Wooded Area with Ferns courtesy of Wyndham Land Trust
Horse in Wooded Area courtesy of Wyndham Land Trust
Farmington Land Trust with Governor Lamont and State Legislators courtesy of Farmington Land Trust
Wilcox-Bushley Homestead in 1950 courtesy of Farmington Land Trust
The Open Trail Podcast Land Trust 101 Thumbnail courtesy of Max Dougan
|
|
Connecticut Land Conservation Council
deKoven House
27 Washington Street
Middletown, CT 06457
860-852-5512
|
|
|
The mission of the Connecticut Land Conservation Council is to elevate and strengthen land conservation in Connecticut. We envision is a future where every Connecticut community is supported and sustained by a diverse mix of conserved land, and land conservation is embraced as an essential community value.
©2023 Connecticut Land Conservation Council. All rights reserved except photos as noted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
