April Email Newsletter |
April 2010
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Spring is here! It’s time to dust off your hiking boots, get outside, and join the Simsbury Land Trust for one of our walks.
Have you renewed your membership for 2010? Are you a member?
Now is the time to renew your membership for 2010. Membership donations are vital to our organization, demonstrating to grant making agencies that we have support from the community. The donations also provide an important revenue source for the SLT, funding the 
daily operation of the organization, stewardship of our properties, education and recreation events, and publications including Landlines and our website.
Please take a minute to print the membership renewal form from the link provided and send in your membership contribution today. We thank you and appreciate your continued support!
April 2010
Simsbury Land Trust Annual Membership Dinner
Please join the Simsbury Land Trust Board of Trustees
for the 2010 Annual Membership Dinner
Tuesday, April 13th - 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
The Riverview | 10 Winslow Place | Simsbury, CT
There is a new venue and a new format for this year’s event. Join us at The Riverview, the new banquet facility in Simsbury, for our annual dinner and program. This year we have a more open format for our dinner, with open bar and hors d’oeuvres, along with pasta, Asian and turkey carving stations. Bring your dessert and coffee to the table for our review of 2009, a preview of what is to come in 2010, and special recognition of some of our members.
6:00 Open bar, hors d’oeuvres and musical entertainment
- Photo contest photography on display
7:00 Pasta, Asian and Turkey Carving stations
7:30 Dessert Buffet, coffee and tea service
- Year in Review
- Photo Contest Winners
- Recognition Awards
8:00 Special guest speaker David Skelly, Professor of Ecology at Yale University
RSVP by April 6. Please note this year an open bar is included and there will be stations and open seating rather than a formal sit down dinner.
Featured program by David Skelly
Connecticut’s Landscape: Past, Present and Future
Connecticut stands today as one of the most densely populated states as well as one of the most heavily forested. This contrast is reflected in the state’s wildlife. Bear, bobcat, beaver, moose, and otter are all on the rebound in spite of recent rapid development. But
conflicts, some already apparent, and some harder to see, are beginning to emerge. David Skelly will describe how Connecticut reached its present condition after centuries of intensive farming and what the future holds for its landscapes and ecosystems.
Biography
David Skelly grew up exploring the forests and swamps of Connecticut leading to an early interest in biology. After undergraduate studies at Middlebury College and a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Michigan, he carried out research in New South Wales, Australia and the Pacific Northwest before moving back to his home state to take a faculty position at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale University. Currently, he serves the School as Professor of Ecology and Associate Dean for Research. He is also a Curator at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.
Prof. Skelly has received a Guggenheim Fellowship for his research on amphibian conservation as well as awards for his teaching. Much of his current research is focused on understanding how people and wildlife affect each other in the landscapes they share.
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The Basics of Vegetable Gardening
Wednesday, April 7
7:00 p.m. - Simsbury Farms Apple Barn
Thinking about starting a vegetable garden? For all kinds of reasons, more people are interested in growing some of their own food. Find out how to plan and prepare a vegetable garden, start seed for transplants, care for your garden and prevent and manage common disease and insect problems. Joan Allen is an assistant extension educator at the UConn Home & Garden Education Center. She teaches courses in the Master Gardener program including vegetable gardening, small fruits and plant pathology and is the plant diagnostician. To reserve space for this event, call the SLT at 860-651-8773.
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Linda’s Litter Lugging
Saturday, April 10
9:00-11:00 a.m. - Town Hall
(rain date: Sunday April 11 at 1:00 p.m.)
State Representative Linda Schofield is organizing a day to clean up Simsbury & recycle the litter. Interested volunteers should call Linda's office at 240-8635.
Meet at the town hall parking lot between 9:00-11:00 a.m. - bags, gloves, etc. provided.
Thank You, Paine's for hauling away the trash we collect.
Thank You, Fitzgerald's for providing refreshments.
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May 2010
Great Pond Bird Hike
Sunday, May 2
7:00 a.m. - Great Pond State Park
Join Jay Kaplan from Roaring Brook Nature Center and the SLT on a bird hike at Great Pond. People should bring binoculars and wear shoes appropriate for wet conditions. The walk is not appropriate for small children. Event will be cancelled in the event of heavy rain. Reservations are requested.
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May is for morels and other wild edibles walk
Saturday, May 8
9:00 a.m. - Great Pond State Park
Join naturalist Marlene Snecinski for a spring hike, foraging for wild medicinal and edible plants, searching for the elusive morel. Marlene is a member of CVMS and does a variety of mushroom walks for area groups. This event will be held rain or shine. Dress appropriately for possible thick brush or soggy footing. All ages welcome. RSVP’s are requested.
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SLT Annual Business Meeting
Saturday, May 15
8:30 breakfast, 9:00 meeting and hike - Roaring Brook Nature Center,
Gracey Road, Canton
Come to the SLT’s Annual Business Meeting. Celebrate our accomplishments of 2009 and learn about our plans for 2010. After the short breakfast and business meeting, join us for a hike on the grounds of Roaring Brook Nature Center. The event is free of charge. Breakfast and Annual Business Meeting will be held rain or shine. Hike will be cancelled in the event of rain. RSVP’s are requested by May 7.
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Plein Air Paint Out
Saturday, May 22
9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. - Tulmeadow Farm Fields and Woodlot
Tulmeadow Farm will host a ''Paint-Out'' event on Sat. May 22nd (raindate Sun .May 23rd). The term paint out is taking from the French term En plein air which is a expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors. Artist will be painting on the farm land from 9am-3pm. Come and see a painting being created from start to finish inspired by the beauty of this pastoral landscape. Catherine M. Elliott and Deborah Leonard will be a few of the artists painting that day as well as other notable local artists.
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Special Discount for SLT members
