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.

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.