To Supporters of the New Canaan Land Trust:
This week marks our halfway point of Session 2’s Summer Steward Internship Program! Everyone agrees that this session is flying by; we cannot believe there are only two weeks left. From the tropical storm we got on Tuesday, a guest lecturer, and a forestry project, we had ourselves a jam packed week.
On Monday, we spent the day at the Firefly Sanctuary installing fences to distinguish private properties from the trust’s land. In addition, we did an entire sweep of the Firefly preserve, and covered it with wood chips in order to make the ground less muddy as we went. The interns agreed that building the fence was one of their favorite activities, as well as an excellent team building activity.
On Tuesday, we spent the morning at the office working on our Forestry Project. Each intern was assigned a tree and invasive species in Connecticut to research. We all found very interesting facts, and shared our species with one another. However, we left midway through the day due to the tornado warnings in New Canaan, and spent the rest of the afternoon researching and staying safe at home. In light of this, on Wednesday we had to cancel due to the unsafe and uncertain road conditions that the storm had left. We were eager to get back on Thursday to tend to the trails.
On Thursday, we spent the day visiting each property to assess any fallen trees or trail damage due to the storm. There is at least one large tree down, in the way of a trai, at every New Canaan Land Trust property. We photographed damage, assessed what we were capable of safely handling with only loppers and handsaws, and cleared any branches or additional debri out of the trail’s way.
On Friday, we had a guest visitor, Susan, come to educate us on the plants within Fowler Meadow, and the invasive weeds that were damaging the flowers from further growth. We spent the morning weeding these invasives out until the overall meadow was left healthy, clear of any invasive weed harm! In the afternoon, we removed a large tree from the Silvermine-Fowler parking lot by cutting it into segments, and pulling the pieces off the trails. We then did an entire trail sweep of Silvermine-Fowler, Kelley Uplands, and the Hicks Meadow. Luckily, we only found one large tree fallen on the trail, and did our best to remove as much debri as possible. Although we lost one day due to the storm as well as our field trip day, the interns are eager to have two field trips next week, and hopefully a five day work week as well! Stay Posted for Week Three’s field trip adventures and further after storm trail cleanup and updates.
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