Weston residents are invited to a community forum on Wednesday, April 25 to discuss plans for a large-scale forest preservation effort in Weston and Wilton.
The community forum will be held Wednesday, April 25 at the Weston Public Library from 7 to 8:30 p.m. An open house will be held from 6:15 to 7 p.m. with refreshments.
The forest preservation initiative is being led by Aspetuck Land Trust (ALT) in partnership with Wilton Land Conservation Trust and is part of a larger regional land preservation effort called the Hudson to Housatonic Regional Conservation Partnership (H2H) which seeks to preserve large tracts of land between the Hudson and Housatonic rivers in New York and Connecticut.
The land area in Weston and Wilton that the land trusts seek to protect is more than 350 acres and is adjacent to more than 2,100 acres of already protected land. The lands are considered rare and resilient habitat, critical to the long-term survival of native Connecticut species threatened by the effects of climate change and fragmentation from development. Aspetuck Land Trust seeks to preserve this critical habitat by protecting and connecting more land and involving individual landowners in the effort.
“We are excited to announce this forest preservation effort and involve the community in protecting the last frontier of undeveloped open space in our area. We invite the citizens of Weston and Wilton to attend the community forum to learn more and get involved. Everyone has a role to play to improve and repair our shared environment and everyone can make a difference,” said ALT’s Executive Director David Brant.
To register to attend the April 25 community forum, contact Alice Cooney at [email protected] The first 50 people to arrive will receive a bundle of native wildflowers to plant in their yard to provide food to pollinators like butterflies and bees.
The Aspetuck Land Trust is a local non-profit land conservation organization founded in 1966 to preserve open space in the towns of Westport, Weston, Fairfield and Easton. ALT preserves provide passive recreation and educational opportunities for people to learn about and enjoy nature, while preserving the flora and fauna and rural characteristics of local communities. ALT maintains 45 trailed nature preserves and other conservation-only properties on more than 1,800 acres of land. More than 1,000 individual members support the organization through annual membership contributions. For more information visit aspetucklandtrust.org.