The Bethany Land Trust celebrated National Poetry Month in April with a hike, where we unveiled 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 is the first of its kind in the state of Connecticut. The Land Trust partnered with the Connecticut Poetry Society to create this initiative.
At distinctive locations throughout three of the Land Trust’s preserves, Mendell’s Folly, Vane Epps Preserve, and Whispering Pines, a total of nine plaques have been installed on 4-foot posts. Each plaque bears a QR code that, when scanned with a cell phone’s camera app, allows hikers to hear an audio recording of a poem (read by the author themself!). Each poem was chosen specifically for its ability to connect the listener with the surrounding nature on another level.