East Granby Middle School Youth Action Council and Traprock Ridge Land Conservancy are asking your group to join them in a town-wide clean up on Sunday, April 21st, 2023 from 10-12 pm. We are asking all town organizations and small groups of any kind to commit to cleaning up one mile of East Granby roads. We will provide the bags and vests for your group and DPW will pick up all trash bags Monday, April 22nd. Let’s all work together to keep our town looking great. Note: All youth groups must have at least two adults in attendance, including high school groups. To register your group go to: East Granby Recreation Department.
Join us after the North Central Conservation District annual plant sale at Hawk Hill Farm for a trail walk with Ron Pitz, DEEP Certified Master Wildlife Conservationist and retired Executive Director of The Knox Park Foundation and Peter Picone, Urban Wildlife Biologist from State of CT DEEP. Ron and Peter will showcase the invasive control work we have done on the property as well as identify and discuss connections between native plants and trees along the way. More details & links to RSVP in advance.
Many of the wetlands and forests the Land Conservancy helps to protect provide important habitat to native turtle species. The next event in our Nature Lecture Series will feature Brian Kleinman discussing turtles native to Connecticut, including protected species such as the Spotted Turtle. Brian is the owner of Riverside Reptiles Education Center in Enfield and will bring some live turtles with him!
- In Person: Help us plan ahead by RSVPing to attend in person.
- Via Zoom: RSVP to receive your link to the webinar in advance.
The Nature Lectures are cosponsored by the Traprock Ridge Land Conservancy and Bloomfield Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services Department. This event will be offered in-person and via Zoom for your convenience. Use one of the online RSVP forms above to register for free in advance.
Dragonflies and Damselflies are among the earliest of insects and have been on Earth for an estimated 300 million years. The largest fossil dragonfly had a wingspan of over two feet! Although smaller today, dragonflies are the fastest flying insects and, along with their smaller relatives, damselflies, remain important environmental indicators of the quality of our environment.
Join Jay Kaplan, Director of Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton, for a free webinar to learn more about these fascinating creatures. Use the online RSVP form to receive your link to the webinar in advance. The Land Conservancy’s nature lecture series is co-sponsored by Bloomfield Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services.
Our 2024 Lecture Series kicks off with a virtual program presented by Megan Seremet and Susan Peterson, Geologist and Watershed Manager, respectively, at the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, and Alexa Tzanova, a longtime Land Conservancy volunteer and Adjunct Professor of Geological Studies at Central Connecticut State University.
They will help us learn about our region’s geological history including the glacial history of the Hartford valley, how the rocks formed that make up the traprock ridge spine that connects East Granby, Bloomfield, and West Hartford, and the effects the ridgeline has on the Farmington River and Connecticut River watersheds. Please follow the link to RSVP online through our lecture series co-sponsor, Bloomfield Parks, Recreation and Leisure Services, to receive a link to the webinar in advance.
Ring in the new year outdoors with friends and neighbors! Our third annual First Day Hike at Wintonbury Hills Golf Course, co-sponsored with Bloomfield Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Services, will explore the Town of Bloomfield’s picturesque golf course abutting the Land Conservancy’s Beacon Hill Preserve. Some of the property along Duncaster Road once was part of A. C. Peterson Farms and nicely illustrates the rural character of western Bloomfield. As a result of continuing, thoughtful management it is certified as a Cooperative Bird Sanctuary by Audubon International.
This guided walk will follow approximately 2.5 miles of cart paths over the rolling hills. Leashed dogs are welcome. Please use the online RSVP form to help our volunteer event leaders plan ahead. Thank you!
When Wintonbury Hills closes to golfers for the season, walkers are welcome to use the grounds as long as they stay on the cart paths. Snowshoeing also is allowed once there is snow. Take advantage of this opportunity to explore one of Bloomfield’s nicest walks and wonderful views.
While we may only catch a glimpse of one late at night, these backyard neighbors play an important role in helping to control pest insect populations such as ticks. Plus, they are the only marsupial native to North America!
Ferncroft Wildlife Rescue will teach us about Opossums and their benefits during this presentation co-sponsored by Traprock Ridge Land Conservancy and East Granby Public Library. After the all-ages presentation, there will be an opportunity to meet one of the Opossum in Ferncroft’s care.
Please register in advance for free through the library.
We will be making a 1.5 ft small wood tree by up-cycling the invasive Asian bitter sweet vines that we have cut while making trails. Register at egpl.org Co-sponsored by East Granby Public Library
When Traprock Ridge Land Conservancy helped East Granby Public Library create Doreen’s Nature Trail behind the library, an invasive vine called Asian Bittersweet was cut … and saved.
We can take these invasive vines and up-cycle them into a beautiful decoration for your home. In this free, hands-on craft workshop we will drill and mix-and-match slices of bittersweet wood to create truly unique, 1.5 foot “trees” to take home.
Register online through our co-sponsor, East Granby Public Library.
Are any of the snakes in Connecticut dangerous to humans? How do they survive the winter? What role do they play in our environment? Join us for a talk with Brian Kleinman, owner of Riverside Reptiles Education Center, to answer these questions and more about the 14 snake species native to Connecticut.
Brian’s presentation is perfect for all ages: He will present on the natural history and identification of our local snakes, and you will have the opportunity to meet and touch some of the live snakes in the center’s collection!
This program is free; no registration required. Co-sponsored by Traprock Ridge Land Conservancy and Riverside Reptiles Education Center.
(Photo: Smooth Green Snake, courtesy Riverside Reptiles Education Center)
Enjoy an invigorating hike from Bloomfield to Simsbury co-sponsored by the Traprock Ridge Land Conservancy (TRLC), Simsbury Land Trust (SLT), and Bloomfield Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services. Along with the glorious fall scenery, the free hike will showcase TRLC, SLT, and town properties that provide trail connectivity linking Bloomfield and Simsbury through Penwood State Park.
The hike will be approximately 5 miles. Meet at 9:00 a.m. at the hike’s end point, the parking lot at the corner of Iron Horse Boulevard and Drake Hill Road in Simsbury (Google map). Bloomfield Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services will provide a bus to shuttle hikers to this year’s starting point, the Oliver Filley House in Bloomfield’s LaSalette Park.
We will hike from LaSalette Park to TRLC’s adjoining Hawk Hill Farm, a working farm with passive recreation trails. From there we will proceed to TRLC’s Stout Family Fields, Bloomfield’s alternate gateway to Penwood State Park.
In Penwood, we’ll visit Lake Louise and The Pinnacle before taking the yellow trail to access SLT’s adjacent Tanager Hill preserve for a lovely descent from Penwood State Park into Simsbury. We’ll proceed through SLT’s Owen-Mortimer preserve and return to the parking lot.
We invite you to take advantage of this annual opportunity to experience a different mode of journeying between our two neighboring towns and enjoy the end of the fall color. RSVP online to help us plan ahead. Thank you!
(Photos from last year courtesy Paula Jones.)
Views from the Pinnacle in Penwood State Park
Gathering at Simsbury Land Trust’s Tanager Hill Preserve
Hikers cross Wintonbury Land Trust’s Stout Family Fields