The Avon Land Trust was very pleased to get some good news today! The Connecticut Water Company awarded us a grant for $500, to improve our trails at Oakes Preserve, an important Avon watershed area. Of all the different utility companies out there here in CT, you have to love Connecticut Water for the way they give back to the community!
Thanks, Rick Dubiel, Co-President
The Avon Land Trust would like to thank everyone who supported us by attending our Puerto Vallarta fundraiser on 1/5/23. This was our second fundraiser and it was very successful in raising needed funds for our mission of preserving open space, providing hiking trails for public enjoyment, improving wildlife habitat, and providing environmental educational programming. Muchas Gracias!
We had absolutely halcyon weather and brilliant foliage for our Talk and Walk at Oakes Preserve. About 22 people were in attendance for a talk on the history of the parcel by our historian Janet Conner. Noted Avon historian Nora Howard talked about her family’s history there, and how the parcel was acquired by the land trust. Co-presidents Bob Breckinridge and Rick Dubiel then talked about the history and role of the land trust, what we have done to the property to improve it for both wildlife and public enjoyment, and what our future plans are. Special thanks to trail master Scott Lewis for his hard work to make significant improvement to the hillside trail in time for the event. The event concluded with a hike around the former ice pond known as Lake Erie.
The Avon Land Trust is very grateful to receive two grants recently. One grant was from CT Water Company, to help improve water conditions at Lake Erie, at our Oakes Preserve. The other grant was from CVS Health, in recognition of volunteer hours donated by an employee. Grants like these help us implement aspirational projects that have been on our wish list. Thanks CVS and CT Water!
The Avon Land Trust is honored to present its first Volunteer of the Year Award to Gerry LaChance, for his indefatigable work maintaining our series of trails. A framed certificate and gift card were presented to Gerry recently. Gerry is a retired teacher in the Avon School System. We deeply appreciate all his hard work, as do the many people who make use of our trail system!
On March 25, 2021, the Avon Land Trust, together with the Avon Free Public Library, sponsored a presentation on Bobcats in CT. Over 200 people registered for the event, across New England!
The bobcat is the only wild cat found in Connecticut and the most common wild cat in North America. The presentation focused on the natural history of bobcats in Connecticut. Once considered a threat to agriculture and game species as well as a high value on its pelts the state had concerns that the bobcat population could be over harvested. So, in 1972 the bobcat was reclassified as a protected fur bearer in Connecticut with no hunting or trapping seasons. DEEP will be conducting a study of bobcats in the Farmington Valley in 2021
The presentation was given by CT DEEP Master Wildlife Conservationist Gail Cameron. Gail graduated from the College of Agriculture at UCONN and went on to work for more than 44 years at the Yale Medical School. She is Vice President and Environmental Stewardship Chair of the Sleeping Giant Park Association and volunteers on multiple projects with Connecticut Audubon. She is also president of the Hamden Land Trust.
The Avon Land Trust held its Annual Meeting tonight, and is very pleased to welcome two new board members: Heidi Zacchera and Paul Schned.
Heidi grew up in Avon, and her father Ray founded the Avon Lions Club, so civic-minded genes run deep. Heidi has kept up the family tradition, and is a member of the Avon Lions Club, and is also active at the state level. Heidi was inspired to join our board after reading about our past president Tom Morganti in our recent newsletter, and how he gave back so much to our community. Heidi is a recently retired educator.
Paul was born and raised in Vermont, and moved to Avon about a year ago, with his pediatrician wife and two young children. They moved to a house near our Land Trust parcel on Bishop Lane. Paul works in finance. Welcome aboard to both!
The Land Trust would like to thank Chris Graesser for serving as our president for the past decade. Chris raised the visibility of the Land Trust over that time, and strengthened our relations with the town, and helped Scott Lewis with our flagship series of trails on the side of Avon Mountain. Chris will continue serving on the board. Bob Breckinridge and Rick Dubiel were elected as co-presidents.
The Avon Land Trust recently learned that it is the recipient of a CVS Health Foundation Volunteer Challenge Grant for $1,000. The grant recognizes the commitment and volunteer work of one of their employees. Thank you, CVS Health!
Due to the pandemic, the Avon Land Trust was not able to present the annual Hugh Blanchard Scholarships in person this year. Sadly there was no handshake, no handing over of the scholarship checks, no face-to-face congratulations, no photos. Instead, we simply and proudly recognize…
Krishna Donger, Justin Shieh, and Sanjana Nistala
for their commitments to land stewardship and the natural world, and we wish them well in their academic pursuits — all three of them will be attending the University of Connecticut!
The Hugh Blanchard Scholarships are named after one of the members who founded the Avon Land Trust back in 1973. Hugh and his wife Dottie cared deeply for preserving Avon’s natural resources to benefit future generations.
Written by Susan Rietano Davey
The Unplugged Learning Project branch of the Avon Land Trust, is thrilled to partner with the Avon High School PTO to bring the critically acclaimed documentary, Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age, to Avon for its Connecticut premiere on Tuesday, May 10th at 7:00 p.m. in the AHS auditorium. For event details and to reserve (free) seats, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/avon-high-school-pto-and-unplugged-learning-project-presents-screenagers-growing-up-in-the-digital-tickets-24760614665
