In this piece, the Newtown Forest Association (NFA) recollects the work Brett Lerner and other NFA volunteers have done in one of their wetland parcels. Describing the migration of phragmites, a non-native grass species in the Americas, and its historical use in traditional European roof thatching, the plant is now common in New England wetlands. Volunteers Brett Lerner and Adam Geriack spent time in Oxford, Michigan learning roof thatching from Deanne Bednar at Strawbale Studio, a non-profit focused on natural building materials and reconnecting to the land. Since their educational excursion in 2014, their yearly phragmites harvest yielded unexpected but welcoming ecological changes...

In a CTInsider Opinion, Jon Leibowitz, executive director of the Northeast Wilderness Trust (NEWT), and Robert Perschel, executive director of the New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF), wrote about the sustainability and conservation of New England forest's effectiveness through necessary and collaborative efforts of environmental organizations. NEWT and NEFF share how two environmental organizations with different goals, came together, and elevated one another, and the steps that helped them there...

On February 17th, U.S. Senators Richard Blumentha and Chris Murphy and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro led a group of lawmakers in introducing legislation to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to New Haven native, Judge Constance Baker Motley. Constance Motley was the first black woman to serve on the federal bench in the U.S., represented Martin Luther King Jr., and helped author the argument against "separate but equal" in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. In 2019, the Chester community celebrated Judge Motley's legacy and the selection of the Chester Land Trust's Constance Baker Motley Preserve as a historic site for the CT Freedom Trail...

The Orange Land Trust (OLT) in conjunction with the Town of Orange recently acquired 15.38- acres of land dedicated to open space and passive recreation. The property is located on Wheeler Farms Road, boarding the Housatonic Overlook property. The parcel was purchased from the Lesniack family and was made possible through a bequeathment from Richard Wright to the OLT. The property features woodlands, open space, and a large pond teeming with wildlife and plant life...

In 1968, two UConn undergraduates purchased 11.5 acres of land along Elliot Road in Brooklyn, CT. Now, former residents, Hadi and Cheryl Bozorgmanesh, donated those same acres to the Wyndham Land Trust. The land sports mostly wetlands that protect and house birds and other plant life. Animal wildlife also thrives in the same ecosystem, a variety of animals like otters, muskrats, bobcats, wood ducks, and mallards have been spotted here...

Salisbury Association Land Trust

Northeast Wilderness Trust holds forever-wild easements in Salisbury Association Land Trust

Six properties from the Salisbury Association Land Trust came under the protection of the Northeast Wilderness Trust (NEWT). The Pope Preserve, Yoakum, Mitchell Shostak, Belter Lime Rock, Dark Hollow, and the Railroad Ramble properties are core forest areas, providing habitat for a variety of animal and plant life, with some rare species. The two land trusts collaborated through NEWT's Wildlands Partnership program, an initiative to encourage local land trusts to engage in forever-wild conservation. Within this region are other regional partnerships that support the same mission of protecting the forests...

These stories hit home to the mission land trusts share with one another, conserving and protecting the land around them. As land trusts steward their land, new and unexpected surprises can appear from their efforts. Through collaboration with community members and other local land trusts, these partnerships strengthen the bonds and resources that empower conservation efforts.

The relationships created are what give value and longevity to the conservation movement. As with Judge Constance Baker Motley, whose determined and persevering work impacted the history of civil rights, advocacy, and beyond, the efforts linking land trusts and other community organizations with one another will lead to great change. With April being Earth Month, a time for us to reflect on the environment and the issues affecting it, connecting and collaborating with your local land trust is another step forward in conservation for the present and future.

With the rain and snow passing and the tepid weather of spring flowing in, come opportunities to get outside, celebrate nature and #LoveYourCTLandTrust.

Phragmites in wetland courtesy of Brett Lerner