Education

Kid Friendly Bio-Blitz Hike Sunday July 13, 1 – 3 PM Join us for a fun-filled BioBlitz at Whispering Pines Preserve on Sunday, July13th from 1-3! (NOTE: date change!!!) A BioBlitz is an exciting event where teams of scientists, students, and community members come together to identify as many species as possible in a specific area over a set time period. It’s a hands-on way to engage with nature and learn about local biodiversity. Participants will be surveying plants and animals that inhabit both the stream and nearby forest. Explore this beautiful spot with us and help identify its inhabitants! Your discoveries will… Read more: July Bulletin

Great Give® 2025: Close to $22,000 Raised Thanks to the generosity of over 50 donors and a match of $15,000 from an anonymous donor, the Land Trust is happy to announce that we’ve raised over $21,000 through the Great Give® 2025 held in early May.  We are very grateful to those who supported us during this campaign.  The Land Trust plans to use Great Give® donations towards the purchase of a large tract of forest that abuts one of our established preserves. With this purchase, the Land Trust will be able to: Thanks once again to the donors for your generosity. Sunday, June 8, 1 – 4… Read more: June 2025

April Hike: Walking the Poetry in the Woods Trail Join us on Sunday, April 13th from 1 – 3 PM for a walk in the woods as we celebrate National Poetry Month. The hike in Mendell’s Folly will be highlighted by stops at locations along the way where we will hear readings by members of the Connecticut Poetry Society.  Those attending the hike are in for a special treat: attending the official opening of the Bethany Land Trust’s Poetry in the Woods poetry trail, the first of its kind in Connecticut!  The initial section of the poetry trail in Mendell’s Folly consists of three permanent plaques… Read more: April 2025

Poetry in the Woods “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood…” – Frost In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Bethany Land Trust unveils a new kind of adventure – Poetry in the Woods.  You’ve probably heard of wine trails, and maybe even chocolate trails, but a poetry trail? The Bethany Land Trust’s Poetry in the Woods poetry trail will be the first of its kind in the state of Connecticut!   Join us as we introduce the initial section of the trail at Mendell’s Folly during a guided hike on Sunday, April 13th, 2025, 1-3pm, the first hike of the 2025 monthly hikes series.  During this hike we… Read more: March 2025

Cooper Farm Agricultural Easement Expands The Bethany Land Trust is pleased to announce that Peter Cooper and Diana Cooper have added the final additional four acres to the existing Cooper Farm agricultural easement along the Bethany – Woodbridge town line (total 51 acres). The addition to the Cooper Farm easement expands a fabulous greenway protecting habitat that starts with the Spykman Preserve through the RWA managed forest to these 51 acres. Previously, the Coopers donated in 2012 an 18-acre agricultural easement on their Bethany land and in 2011, a 29-acre agricultural easement on abutting land in Woodbridge.  This 4-acre easement on… Read more: February 2025

Cold Weather Hiking Winter’s cold, even with temps below freezing for several days, presents a unique opportunity to leave our comfortable warm spaces indoors for a walk in the woods.  No ticks, no mosquitoes, animal tracks, iced over streams and ponds, blissful quiet, early morning and late afternoon winter shadows, the unexpected warmth of the noonday sun, an altered perception of our favorite trails and places….the list of surprises goes on and on.   Being prepared is one secret to enjoying a winter walk in the woods. Check your local forecast and trail conditions. Dress in layers like an onion with a… Read more: December Bethany Bulletin

Fall Educational Program: “Don’t Attract Bears” Felicia A. E. Ortner, Connecticut Master Wildlife Conservationist, presented an educational program called ‘The Bear Reality” to a packed house at the Lakeview Lodge in November. Ortner has been studying bears for over 30 years. Her passion for bears inspired her to create an educational program called, “The Bear Reality.” Her intent was to dispel misunderstandings about bears and discuss strategies for coexistence with humans and bears. Ortner said that there are currently eight species of bears across four continents, but the only bear species found wild in Connecticut is the American black bear.  Black… Read more: November 2024

American Chestnut Trees Planted In Hall Preserve  An opportunity arose to plant trees in the Hall Preserve, an 8-acre mostly wooded parcel on Downs Road. Working closely with neighbors who abut the parcel, several blight-resistant American chestnut trees (Castanea dentata) were planted. The specimens were purchased from a local nursery and positioned in spots chosen to provide ample opportunity to thrive. The saplings were surrounded with wire fencing for protection from foraging animals. Currently, two of saplings are doing well. The story of the American chestnut and its relationship with humans is a tale of bounty, tragedy, and ultimately, of… Read more: October 2024