Aaron Lefland

Podcast: New Canaan Land Trust’s ‘Firefly Sanctuary’

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This week on 0684-Radi0, our free podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to Aaron Lefland, executive director of the New Canaan Land Trust, about the organization’s “Firefly Sanctuary.”

Located off of Sleepy Hollow Road, the Sanctuary is now at its most active, and has grown so popular that the donor-supported Land Trust for first time has set nightly attendance limits for those seeking to view the unique meadow when the fireflies come out. Lefland says the Firefly Sanctuary is probably the first of its kind in the nation. Click here to book a viewing slot. For those interested in learning more, here’s a link to the Land Trust’s own podcast with firefly expert, Dr. Sarah Lewis. 

Here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0:

Aaron Lefland

New Canaan Land Trust Challenges Plan To Alter Grupes Dam, Bank

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Saying the changes will harm the environment, officials with a prominent New Canaan nonprofit organization are voicing concerns about a proposal to raise the height of a dam in the Silvermine River and construct berms and walls along its bank. The First Taxing District of Norwalk’s plans for the Grupes Reservoir Dam off of upper Valley Road will result in the permanent clearing of more than 400 native trees and shrubs that comprise important riverbank habitat, according to the New Canaan Land Trust. 

The proposed barrier of berms and walls also will disconnect wetlands and streams from the reservoir at the Land Trust’s abutting 10.3-acre Browne Sanctuary, Land Trust Executive Director Aaron Lefland said. The Land Trust is joining the Norwalk River Watershed Association in petitioning the application and urging the public to participate in a Sept. 29 hearing. “We feel pretty strongly that the application the Norwalk Taxing District submitted to DEEP [state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection] is incomplete and does not address any impacts of the project,” Lefland told NewCanaanite.com. 

“Of the 600-page application, two [pages] talk about impacts on vegetation and all they talk about is vegetation downstream of the dam, whereas all we are concerned about is upstream,” he said.

News

Local Organizations and COVID-19: New Canaan Land Trust

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For today’s Q&A with a local organization, we hear from Aaron Lefland, executive director of the New Canaan Land Trust. 

Here’s our exchange. New Canaanite: The Land Trust closed and then reopened its walking trails. What has the feedback from trail-goers been since the reopening? Aaron Lefland: Our members and visitors were very understanding about the trail closures, and like us, were happy to see the trails re-opened after the brief closure. Since the health crisis began, we’ve seen a significant uptick in visitation to all of our properties, and are thrilled that so many people are exploring the special places that the Land Trust has worked to protect.

Aaron Lefland

Officials Reopen Parks for Trail-Walking Only

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Town officials on Sunday reopened New Canaan parks strictly for use of walking trails. Though park visitors may drive into places such as Waveny and Irwin, activities other than trail-walking—such as use of fields and playgrounds—are not permitted, with the sole exception of picking up to-go food from Mead Park Lodge, according to Emergency Management Director Mike Handler. “We trust that residents will use common sense and maintain proper social distancing,” Handler said in Saturday’s town-wide outcall. “If possible, we suggest that you wear a face covering. Again, this is just a suggestion and we leave it up to you to decide what is appropriate given your activity. We hope this reduces some of the congestion on our roadways.”

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan closed New Canaan parks March 30. Since then, New Canaan has lost an additional 17 people to COVID-19 virus, bringing the town’s total to 21.

Aaron Lefland

‘A Second Shot at Life’: Orphaned Foxes Released at Local Land Preserve

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A large crowd gathered Thursday evening to witness the release of two rehabilitated red foxes on a New Canaan Land Trust nature preserve off of Davenport Ridge Road. The young foxes, one male and one female, had been orphaned earlier this year, according to Dara Reid, director of Wildlife in Crisis, a Weston-based nonprofit organization that has been caring for the pair. “Both families were killed,” Reid said from the Colhoun Preserve, a 21-acre parcel acquired by the Land Trust in 1974. “One by cars and one by rodenticide—rat and mouse poison.”

Now about six months old, the foxes were in “very poor” condition when they were brought in, Reid said. “We had to give them fluids and a lot of rest when they first came to us but they have fully recovered and grown at this point,” she said. 

When the cages were opened in a clearing away from the road, one of the foxes was eager for freedom, hesitating only momentarily before bounding into the bushes.