Photos - New Canaan Land Trust

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The New Canaan Land Trust\'s Instagram page is a great way to follow along with current projects, be inspired by the beauty of our preserves, and learn about our community of volunteers and visitors. Below is a collection of our most recent posts. Check out our page for more...

Butterflies in waiting… These Black Swallowtail

Stinkhorns make a brief appearance at Still Pond’’s council ring.

Stinkhorns are unusual looking mushrooms that grow in decaying hardwood mulch. As they mature, they do, in fact, stink. They rely on insects, such as flies and beetles, to disperse their spores. In order to attract them, they release a foul odor akin to rotting meat and dung. The insects feast on the slimy tips of the mushrooms and carry off the spores to reproduce in a new location.

Stinkhorns, which emerge in summer and fall, often arrive in garden mulch. They first appear as egg shapes lying on the ground. When conditions are right they shoot up rapidly, growing 4-6 inches in an hour. They ripen quickly and then fade away.

As with all mushrooms, stinkhorns play an important ecological role by recycling decaying organic matter and returning the nutrients to the soil.

A word of warning: these mushrooms can be poisonous to dogs who are sometimes attracted by their strong fleshy odor. If you have pets, you might want to remove sprouting stinkhorns from your garden. Otherwise, if you can tolerate their smell, let them be.

Have you seen the amazing, large scale sculpture t

What a great fall day to get out on one of our pre

Hello everyone and happy Autumn! The NCLT is kick

Hard to believe that we are approaching the last m

This stunning orange caterpillar was spotted yeste

Butterfly fun with lepidopterist Victor DeMasi at

Multiple praying mantids spotted yesterday morning

An unusual sighting of a red-banded hairstreak in

Hello friends of the New Canaan Land Trust! Here i $Hello friends of the New Canaan Land Trust! Here is an update on the Summer Steward team's week. This week, the group had the opportunity to venture to @soundwaters in Stamford and spend time collecting organisms from the Long Island Sound. Close-up inspections along with explanations by program leader, Autumn, provided tremendous educational interaction with a variety of marine species. A day spent in the water at the beach allowed the team to beat the heat and step outside of the forests for the day to observe the work of other conservation-based groups. The second photo represents just a fraction of the outstanding work our team has done. The stewards have been continuously working to revamp the West road access point for our Watson-Symington preserve. Not only did they provide a beautiful accessway, but they also forged an entirely new section of the trail shortly beyond. Through their determination and enthusiasm, they made quick work of the task. At the adamant request of intern Lucas, the group stands proudly with a crossed hatchet and axe. Through close supervision, the group worked with these tools to remove sections of a downed tree that was impeding progress on their West road trail project. This was not easy work, but the boys overcame the obstacle, cheers and high fives ensued as they rolled away the vanquished adversary. Featured is a photo captured by intern Andrew. His steady hand and patience allowed him to get within inches of this Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans). Andrew is fond of photography and has captured an abundance of breathtaking images over the course of the past few weeks. This is not the first photo of his to be featured in our posts. The positivity of this group is contagious and through heat and sweat, they have not faltered. Their continued enthusiasm has made the past several weeks go by in no time. Their contributions to the Land Trust thus far have been great and they have greeted each educational experience eagerly. For more information about what has been going on with this group, please visit the blog on our website. As always, if you see the stewards out on the trials please say "Hello!"$

Here are some photos from the busy Week 2 of our s

This week marked the beginning of our second summe

A close-up view of a female Tiger Swallowtail sipp

A spring peeper in the early morning in the Silver

As of now, our first 2022 Summer Internship Sessio

Oswego Tea There aren’t many flowers as intense

The silent auction that's part of the 2022 Sculptu

Mock strawberries ripening now at Watson-Symington

Volunteers at Watson Symington Preserve - National

This Saturday, June 4, is National Trails Day and

What is Connecticut’s state flower and where can

Brawn, precision, a stonemason’s expert eye and

Partners in meadow ecology… A Pearl Crescent bu

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