What a beautiful month we have had. The weather gave us a mix of warm days along with those familiar freezing temperatures and frosty mornings. Those warm days are a blessing for another chance to comfortably go outside and explore nature in the fantastic showing of colorful leaves.
We were especially lucky on a Sunday to enjoy a beautiful day for our Hike Through History event – an educational hike through one of our earliest acquired properties, the Browne Preserve on Valley Road. Participants were led through the woods and through a timeline of New Canaan’s rich history. Aaron Lefland, our Executive Director, spoke about the formation of the land and the geological characteristics that through time have evolved but are still recognizable today. Samanatha Connell, a research Librarian at the New Canaan Library spoke about the early inhabitants of this land, how they lived and the wars and massacres that transpired in the area. Michael Murphy, a librarian at the Museum and Historical society, spoke about the industrialized formation of the town and how it came to look the way it does today. We are so lucky to have these great knowledgeable presenters in our town and thank them immensely for sharing their knowledge with us.
If you would like to know more about the history that was discussed at this event, reach out to me by email and I can pass along links to resources to aid in your research.
Another great event last month was our Annual Meeting. First I would like to say thank you to everyone who came and who tuned in via Zoom to join our Annual Membership Meeting. The meeting was held in the newly renovated visitor center at the New Canaan Nature Center; a really great space! We had refreshments and wine and a special guest speaker Spencer Meyer, Senior Conservationist at Highstead. Spencer spoke about the benefits of conservation from a few different perspectives, financially holistic wellbeing and community strengthening benefits and congratulated NCLT on its continued efforts and noticeable achievements. Speaking more to this was our President Tom Cronin, our Treasurer Arthur Berry and Aaron our Executive Director. A recording of the meeting can be found HERE.
We also continued our work with the New Canaan High School’s Alternative High School Program. Students spent three separate days with us learning what it means to be a steward of the Land. We removed invasive plants, re-lined the walking trails, removed an old bench and did some general clean up. And, we discovered some pretty cool creatures that live in the woods like the Red Centipede and the Eastern Redback Salamander. It was great spending the day with all of you, hope to see you on the trails!
This month, I also got to spend a lot of time with some special volunteers. We planted a meadow, built stone walls, prepped for our Annual Meeting and I can’t forget the awesome troop of Girl Scouts that helped us execute a really fun Halloween event. Thank you to all of our Volunteers and dedicated members of the Land Trust!
There is so much to be thankful for this year. I am thankful to have come to New Canaan and to meet so many great people. I am thankful for the efforts of the Land Trust in conserving and dutifully protecting the land and wildlife amongst it. New Canaan is so beautiful, with abundant and varied ecosystems. I am so thankful for the opportunity to watch as the seasons change and so grateful for all the access to open space. There is no better feeling than escaping the office for a few hours to walk underneath the canopy of trees.
Who else is excited to see the blankets of snow!?
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