Past Events
POSTPONED to March 18 – March Astronomy Observing Session
Time: 7:30-9:30 pm
Place: Register to learn location
Contact Email: astronomy@lymelandtrust.org
This program was rescheduled from March 17 to March 18 due to weather forecast.
Young or old, experienced or totally unfamiliar, we look forward to exposing you to our uniquely dark skies here in Lyme. The new observatory is in full motion. The Lyme Land Trust offers public viewing sessions once a month near the new moon. Our cohorts have several different telescopes that are on display for your observing pleasure, and we now are pleased to have a modern 14″ Schmidt-Cassegrain housed in a permanent observatory structure.
On any given night, public sessions will be co-facilitated by one or more of our talented cohort enthusiasts:
- Jon Dean
- Roger Charbonneau, Jr
- Scott Mallory
- Parag Sahasrabudhe
- Alan Sheiness
Reservations required. astronomy@lymelandtrust.org
Directions to the site and special guidance for those with heavy astronomy equipment will be provided upon registration. Park in the designated area and walk to the observing field with its amazing panoramic views of the heavens. Dress for temperatures 10-20 degrees lower than forecast for your comfort. No white lights at the field site, please.
For more information about the astronomy program See amazing astrophotography by Parag Sahasrabudhe – Velology blog
Tree Collective- Teen Steward Group Meet-up
Time: 1:00-3:30 pm
Place: Register to learn location
Contact Email: reganstacey@gmail.com
The Tree Collective is a program designed to engage young conservationists ages 14-18 in outdoor fun and education while working to maintain trails in our beautiful town of Lyme, CT. It is sponsored by the Lyme Land Trust under the leadership of environmentalist/artist Regan Stacey. Each time we meet, we offer a different topic, often with a hike and trail work in a selected preserve.
Tools and gloves provided.
Registration required: reganstacey@gmail.com.
Click on flyer to enlarge.
Hello Spring! Forest Bathing
Time: 10:00 am- 12:00 pm
Place: Ravine Trail (Selden Entrance), Joshuatown Road, Lyme CT
Contact Email: regan@reganstacey.com
Celebrate the spring equinox with a guided forest bathing walk. Renew your connection with yourself and the Earth as we tap into nature’s rhythms and welcome the season of spring. The equinox, a gentle reminder to rest in the balance of the day, naturally invites a time to relax, renew, and ground for the season ahead. Invitations to connect with nature will be offered along the way. The walk is about 1-mile over easy to moderate terrain.
The walk concludes with a wild-foraged tea.
Registration: $33 ~ includes the program and tea
Register HERE
LLT members receive 15% discount with code LLT15
Rain or shine event. Challenging weather cancels.
Forest bathing is inspired by the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku – taking in the forest atmosphere. As a growing global wellness movement, it is backed by nearly 40 years of scientific research on the holistic benefits of immersing yourself in nature. These benefits include reduced stress and blood pressure, increased creativity and focus, improved mood and sleep, and a boost to immune functions. Regan Stacey is an artist and advocate for the Earth whose passion is to reconnect humans to nature for personal and planetary wellbeing. She is also co-founder of The Forest Therapy School, training forest therapy guides to share this work around the world. In her private practice, she offers forest bathing walks, mindful nature retreats, and mindfulness training. Find out more about her work at reganstacey.com
Tuesday Trek on Wednesday: Selden Creek Preserve
Time: 9:30 am
Place: Meet at Selden Preserve parking lot on Joshuatown Rd.
Contact Email: openspace@townlyme.org
Presenter: Wendy Hill
Meet at Selden Preserve parking lot on Joshuatown Rd. 2+ mile hike to beautiful vistas of Selden Creek and surrounding marshlands.
This walk was rescheduled from Feb 28.
Register: openspace@townlyme.org
View the Tuesday Trek Schedule
CANCELLED – Tuesday Trek: Thach Preserve
Time: 9:30 am
Place: Park in lot on 131 Brush Hill Road.
Contact Email: Jim.arrigoni@lymelandtrust.org
Presenter: Jim Arrigoni
Cancelled due to weather.
Park in lot on 131 Brush Hill Road. Still winter in the preserves but changes are happening. Come to Thach and let’s explore this short 1-mile loop to see what spring might be hiding for us just around the corner.
Register: jim.arrigoni@lymelandtrust.org
View the Tuesday Trek Schedule
FULL – Tour of Nehantic State Forest Management Project
Time: 1:00-3:00 pm
Place: Nehantic State Forest, Norwich Pond Parking Lot, Keeny Rd, Lyme
Contact Email: openspace@townlyme.org
If you have walked in Nehantic State Forest recently, you may have noticed that several of the trees have been painted with blue marks. Join CT DEEP foresters Alexander Amendola and Frank Cervo, and retired forester Emery Gluck on a tour of an upcoming project being implemented by CT DEEP to promote habitat diversity as part of the State’s forest ecosystem management program. The walk is about 2 miles and moderately rugged with a few steep climbs and some rocky footing.
Register: openspace@townlyme.org This walk is full. Register to be placed on the waitlist.
Sponsored by Lyme Land Trust, Town of Lyme, and CT DEEP
FULL – Ceremonial Stonework Walk in Hartman Park
Time: 9:00am-1:00pm
Place: Hartman Park, Meet at the main entrance parking lot, Gungy Rd, Lyme CT.
Contact Email: education@lymelandtrust.org
Join us for a walk, beginning from the main parking lot at Hartman Park, to see ceremonial stonework left behind by the indigenous population that has inhabited New England for at least 12,000 years. Documentary photographer Markham Starr will lead the walk. Native Americans built several distinct types of structures in our area, ranging from cairns to stone serpent effigies, and these spiritual offerings remain standing in now long abandoned woods. While Native American stonework is widely recognized out west and to the south, New England’s stonework remains obscure, having blended back into the woods. We will walk about four miles. some of it off-trail. Wear sturdy footwear and bring a walking stick for stability.
Markham Starr is a documentary photographer concerned with the disappearing working cultures of New England. He is the author of a dozen books, providing glimpses into the lives of people such as commercial fishermen, farmers, and cannery workers, and has written about other subjects such as historic barns in Connecticut. His work has appeared in national magazines and is part of the permanent collection at the Library of Congress and other museums throughout New England. A snack will be provided. Bring a bottle of water.
Register: education@lymelandtrust.org. This walk is full. Please send an Email to get put on the wait list.
Tuesday Trek: Nehantic State Park
Time: 9:00 am
Place: Park at north end of Keeny Road at parking lot
Contact Email: kristina.white@lymelandtrust.org
Presenter: Kristina White
blue loop – 3.5 – 4 miles. Arduous hike of 3 plus hours to Nickerson and Brown Hills See indigenous stone walls and boulders, views and vernal pools. Park at north end of Keeny Road at parking lot [see map] Nehantic State Forest (ct.gov)
Register: kristina.white@lymelandtrust.org
View the Tuesday Trek Schedule
Meet Jim Arrigoni – Walk at Brockway Hawthorne Preserve
Time: 10:00 am- 12:00 pm
Place: Brockway-Hawthorne Preserve, Brush Hill Rd., Lyme
Contact Email: education@lymelandtrust.org
Meet the Lyme Land Trust’s new environmental director, Jim Arrigoni, and join him for a walk to explore the forests and wetlands in this special preserve. Dense thickets of Mountain Laurel shrubs and conifers like Hemlock and White pine make BHP a great place for a winter stroll, but they also provide important cover for a variety of wildlife from White-tailed Deer to Barred Owls. Jim will explain how these and other species are adapted to survive the harsh New England winter.
Imagining Lyme–People’s Vision Vote – 2022
Time: midnight
Place: Imagining Lyme website Gallery 2022
Contact Email: education@lymelandtrust.org
It’s your turn to vote for your favorite photo of 2022 in the Imagining Lyme – A Visual Exploration of Lyme’s Preserves program
When you have chosen, email the title of the photograph and photographer’s name to education@lymelandtrust.org
Please put “People’s Vision” in the subject line of the email.
We are asking people to vote for their favorite of all the photos that were submitted to the Imagining Lyme Photo Gallery in 2022. To see the galleries of all submitted photos, visit the website Imagining Lyme website. https://imagininglyme.org/ Choose any one photo from “Gallery 2022”.
Keep taking photos in the Lyme and share them with us . The next session is for photos taken in winter. The deadline is March 31, 2023.
Photos must be taken in Lyme in these places:
A. Lyme Preserves owned and/or managed by the Lyme Land Trust, Town of Lyme, and The Nature Conservancy
B. Pollinator/wildlife habitat – May be in a backyard, preserve or in a Lyme Pollinator Pathway garden in Lyme, CT.
C. Trail 52- the sky above Lyme.
