Join the New Canaan Land Trust on Saturday, May 15th for an outdoor, environmentally-inspired poetry reading that will feature Connecticut’s Poet Laureate Margaret Gibson and seven other acclaimed Connecticut poets. Seven poets will read their poems from the recently published anthology Waking Up to the Earth. Edited by State Poet Laureate Gibson, Waking Up to the Earth is a collection of poems by Connecticut poets who write of their relationships with the earth at a time of global climate crisis.
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.
Please join the New Canaan Land Trust to celebrate the opening of the New Canaan Sculpture Trail on Friday, June 19th. On the eve of the summer solstice, the Summer Sculpture Soirée promises to be a fun-filled hour with live entertainment, games, food, drink, flash talks from some of the artists, a toast by a celebrity and opportunities to support the New Canaan Land Trust. 5:01 pm to 6 pm. Tickets per household are $25.00.
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.
Join the New Canaan Land Trust and Wildlife in Crisis for a live streaming wildlife release. We’ll be releasing a beautiful red-tailed hawk back to the wild, where it will be given a second chance at life, right here in New Canaan. We might also have a few barred owls too; stay tuned! The release will be streamed via Facebook Live. Viewers can tune in and ask questions about the hawk, the Land Trust preserve, or either organization.
