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Invasive Species Removal on Land Trust Properties
The Darien Land Trust is participating in the State of Connecticut's project to remove the Common Reed (Phragmites australis) on several of our properties. Phragmites is an aggressively growing exotic plant which negatively impacts the function and bio diversity of Long Island Sound. The immediate impact of the removal of the Phragmites will be to promote the return of native vegetation, wildlife use and restore visibility to the tidal marshes for the residents of Darien. [Read more....] |
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Darien Land Trust Acquires 2 acres on Hollow Tree Ridge Road
Just before the close of 2007, the Darien Land Trust received an important gift of land on Hollow Tree Ridge Road. The property totals 6.89 acres, permanently conserved as Open Space. This includes a 2-acre direct gift to the Darien Land Trust and 4.89 acres held in a conservation easement.The property owners have owned the land, part of the old Ox Ridge bridle trail, for some forty years. It was the donors' generous wish to permanently preserve their beautiful woodland property for future generations. [Read
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Darien Land Trust Annual
Meeting — Sunday, November 4th
at 5:00 p.m., Noroton Yacht Club
The
speaker will be Donald S. Strait, Executive Director
of Connecticut Fund for the Environment. In 2004,
Don guided the organization's merger with Save the
Sound, which is now a Tri-state program of CFE.
Prior accolades include: Don was a staff attorney
for the Natural Resources Defense Council in NY,
co-founder of the Connecticut
League of Conservation Voters,
VP of the Environmental Support
Center and board member of
Restore America's Estuaries both
based in Washington, D.C., and
the Greenwich Land Trust.
A wonderful speaker, he will talk about
the environmental successes and priorities
we face now ~ and how we all can get involved!
[Download
PDF...] |
“SPRING” Into
Action
It
is always "all hands on deck" at the Darien Land
Trust, and again this year we offer our members, friends
and neighbors the chance to join us as "Stewards for
a Day" for our annual Spring Clean-Up on Saturday,
May 5th from 10:00-12:00.
All ages are welcome and volunteers need
only a pair of garden gloves, comfortable work clothes and "mud-ready" shoes
(the ground can be soft and wet this time of year). Our
morning's work will be followed by (the now traditional and
always
delicious) cook-out for volunteers from 12:30-2:00 p.m.
Those interested should RSVP to Kaye Rabin at 656-0272 by
May 1st
for property assignments and directions to the cook-out.
Presidents Gather
to Celebrate Anonymous Gift
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Former Presidents
of the Darien Land Trust
(L to R: Bill Atkinson, Terrie Wood (current president),
Bill Ziegler, Bob Fiske, Ed Cosden, Steve Mandel and
Jay Shutts)
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On Saturday, November 4th, 2006, 86 past
and current Darien Land Trust trustees, spouses and guests
gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the “anonymous” gift
that inspired the creation of the Darien Land Trust in 1956.
A most extraordinary evening, it marked the first time that
all the current and past trustees had gathered together.
Land Trust lore held that the organization
was founded by an anonymous $5,000 contribution in 1956 to
protect against the loss of undeveloped land and unspoiled
woods. Several of us were curious who this anonymous person
was – surely there had to be a name somewhere in the past
minutes and archives. And after reading through the Land
Trust's early minutes, several names emerged as likely candidates
for attribution and recognition. A phone call to Avery Rogers
Brook confirmed the identity of the anonymous donors of that
initial gift as her and her husband, Joel.
New Trustees Join Darien Land Trust Board
Three community members were elected to the
Darien Land Trust Board of Trustees at its Annual Meeting,
November 5, 2006.
Lynne Brooks, who served
as the first Executive Director of the Darien Land Trust
from 2001-2004, transformed the organization into a statewide
recognized land trust and guided the organization to the
successful completion of the Mather Meadows campaign. A co-founder
of the Darien Environmental Group, dedicated to educating
Darien residents about ways in which they can change their
consumer and lifestyle habits to benefit our environment.
Lynne has been a resident of Darien for 22 years. She works
as a contract consultant, and serves on the Community Fund
of Darien allocations committee.
Margaret (“Margot”) Hand was
born in Darien and her family has lived on Brush Island since
the 1950s. A freelance editor-proofreader and landscape painter
(member of The Holly Pond Painters) she has a strong interest
in preserving the beauty of and wildlife in salt marshes.
An active member of the Friends of Weed Beach Park, Margot
serves as Secretary and is planning a grant proposal for
an educational trail through three ecosystems and wildlife
refuge at the Park. A member of the Board of the Darien Library,
Margot chairs the Library’s Art Exhibits.
Flip Huffard is a Senior
Managing Director at the Blackstone Group in New York. A
Greenwich native, Flip and his wife Kim (a Darien native)
have lived in Darien since 1993.
President of the Darien Land Trust Terrie
Wood said, “We have long been fortunate to have an
extraordinary group of community leaders and dedicated volunteers
on our board over the Land Trust’s history. Lynne,
Margot and Flip continue that tradition as well as bringing
new energy, ideas and talents to the group.”
Wilderness Historian Roderick F. Nash
Spoke at the Annual Meeting of the Darien Land Trust, Sunday,
November 5th
Roderick
F. Nash, PhD, considered America's foremost wilderness historian
and a national leader in the field of environmental history,
management and education, was a speaker at the Annual Meeting
of the Darien Land Trust, held on Sunday, November 5th at
5:00 p.m. at the Noroton Yacht Club. The event was very well
attended.
Among Professor Nash’s numerous books
and over 150 essays, best known is Wilderness and the
American Mind. Professor Emeriti of History and the
Environmental Studies Program at the University of California,
Santa Barbara, he is also a past Lindbergh Fellow, has served
on the board of directors of the Yosemite Institute and as
a member of the advisory committee to the U.S. National Park
Service. He earned his B.A. at Harvard and Ph.D. at the University
of Wisconsin.
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