Preservation is the first step in our vision for strategic land conservation–stewarding the land in our care is the long-term plan. 2024 was another exciting and productive year for Stewardship at the Westport Land Conservation Trust.
We celebrated 10 years of the Tuesday Trail Team, a devoted group of individuals whose ranks only continue to grow with so many devoted community members. The staff are always happy to see this team each Tuesday morning, sharing in education, hard work, and service to our community.
Staff, interns and the Tuesday Trail Team accomplished critical tasks and made significant improvements to the trails and infrastructure of nearly all of WLCT’s public properties. Three major projects stand out over the past year: 2+ miles of new trails at Westport Woods, the new native display gardens at Westport Woods, and the establishment of the grassland meadows at Dunham’s Brook.
New Trails
The new trails at Westport Woods were established after the property was expanded in 2023 with land acquisitions to the north. A combination of planning and continued dedicated service from the Tuesday Trail Team allowed this expansion to be open to the public in early spring.
In 2025, another expansion north is imminent, and will provide one of the longer trail systems for true explorers in the region! WLCT staff and volunteers will begin work on this initiative in 2025 and hope to have it ready by late summer or early Fall.
New Gardens
Our new Native Plant Display and learning center gardens came to fruition this past spring, again a combination of staff planning and inspired work from volunteers. These gardens brought a huge influx of insects, birds, and small mammals right to our office doorstep. These gardens were designed for active and passive educational experiences, as well as aesthetic and ecological function. All the plants were labeled and documented by another volunteer which helped finish the project in late summer. Visitors were delighted all year at the robust nature of the garden in its infancy and the staff is excited to see it evolve over the coming years.
New Grasslands
Planted in early spring 2023, the grassland meadow at Dunham’s Brook started to truly develop on its own this year, with many varieties of native warm season grasses maturing and going to seed for the first time. The planning and implementation was done in-house with assistance from a local farmer who had the proper equipment to tackle such a large project. As always, our Tuesday Trail Team played a major role in this project focusing on invasive plant removal around the perimeter of the field. We continue to do invasives removal and follow-up to ensure we exhaust the seedbanks of these unwanted plants. The grasslands will reach full maturity next year and continue to develop in the years ahead.
Looking Ahead
Each year we take on different projects depending on need, funding and weather conditions. WLCT is looking forward to another busy year with Stewardship in 2025. Between staff, volunteers, and donors we get a lot done–and always have a good time doing it!