Fourth Annual Earth Day Expo at the Groton Public Library
2026-04-25 11:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Groton Public Library, 52 Newtown Road, Groton, CT, 06340
Avalonia is proud to be an exhibitor at this annual, family-friendly event, featuring 50+ exhibitors, community organizations, and vendors sharing resources and information on sustainable initiatives, green living, and more.

Join us for a fun-filled day of caring for our planet. This event will be held rain or shine, and additional parking will be available at Thrive 55+ Active Living Center.

Visit Fourth Annual Earth Day Expo to find out more

Wildlife Habitat Enhancement at the Hunter Brook Preserve in Norwich
2026-06-10 09:30 - 12:00 | Hunter Brook Preserve
Join Avalonia Stewardship staff, interns, and volunteers on the morning of June 10th from 9:30 -12:00 at our Hunter Brook Preserve in Norwich and be a part of our continuing efforts at enhancing wildlife habitat on this beautiful 27-acre preserve!
Work will consist of implementing recommendations associated with the recent Audubon Forest Bird Habitat Assessments, in particular the removal of the invasive plant, Japanese barberry from along the brook. Participants will receive training in invasive plant identification, best management practices, and removal techniques.
The necessary tools will be supplied for volunteer use. It is suggested that volunteers bring thick gloves, sturdy and waterproof footwear, and drinking water. If you have loppers, clippers, or digging implements feel free to bring them. Light refeshments will be provided.
Please register so that we can better plan for this no-cost event. A confirmation email will contain additional event details including specifics regarding parking. Please contact Director of Stewardship, Tobias Glaza at tglaza@avalonialc.org for more information.
This Project is supported by Audubon.
REGISTER HERE

Critter Confidential: Research Conducted on Avalonia Properties
2026-11-07 12:30 - 14:00 | Jonathan Trumbull Library, 580 Exeter Road, Lebanon, CT, 06249
Walktober is almost here!
The Last Green Valley’s fabulously successful annual series of activities starts in September, and Avalonia’s four offerings go right through the whole season! Registration is required for all Avalonia Walktober programs. (If an event is rescheduled because of weather, you’ll want to know.) Service animals only, please, at these events.
Saturday, November 7, 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Join researchers Salma Huque (Master’s student, Yale School on the Environment), Peter Paton (Professor Emeritus, URI), and Evan Zocco (Ph.D. student, UConn) as they present their research on, respectively, biodiversity, Great Black-backed Gulls, and beavers.

REGISTER HERE

Accessibility Note
One accessible space in the lot near the ramp. Automated entry doors. Accessible bathrooms. Sign language interpretation and amplification may be available upon request.
For more information about the accessibility of this event, contact Avalonia at info@avalonialc.org or 860-884-8500.

About the Presenters

Salma Huque with her colleague, Jake Frame
Salma Huque
Salma is a Master of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School on the Environment specializing in Water Resources. She is interested in watershed management, public land use, and conservation in the American West. Salma holds a BA in Economics from Reed College. Her work experience includes time as an environmental consultant in Oregon, a research assistant for the U.S. Forest Service’s Intermountain West region, and a water conservation data scientist in western Colorado. She has a background in coding and loves the challenge of communicating data-heavy analyses to the public. With a Co-Researcher, Salma completed a project on Avalonia preserves that enabled the organization to submit twenty National Diversity Database requests to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Peter Paton
A conservation biologist, Peter Paton has studied the population ecology of birds and amphibians for the past 50 years. He grew up in Colorado, and earned a B.S. in Biology from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon; a M.S. from Colorado State University, where he studied birds as an airstrike hazard in Hilo, Hawaii; and a Ph.D. from Utah State University, where he studied the breeding ecology of Snowy Plovers at the Great Salt Lake. For two years after receiving his Ph.D., he monitored birds at Denali National Park. In 1995, Peter joined the Department of National Resources Science at the University of Rhode Island, from which he recently retired. During his time at URI, he and his students studied shorebirds, wading birds, and passerines throughout southern New England. For the past 14 years, he has been studying Common and Roseate Terns on Great Gull Island, where he still is active in research and management. From 2024-2025, he and his students tracked 30 adult Great Black-backed Gulls breeding on Block Island National Wildlife Refuge (R.I.) and Avalonia’s South Dumpling Island. The results of this research improve understanding of partial migration, offshore distribution, and year-round resource use of Great Black-backed Gulls in an increasingly important segment of the species’ range.

Evan Zocco
Evan Zocco is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Connecticut. His work looks at how drones, aerial photos, and computer programs can help us better understand changes in the environment. He studies how beavers change streams, wetlands, and floodplains by building dams and holding back water. His research focuses on finding better ways to map these changes over large areas, especially in places where water may be hidden by trees, shrubs, or other wetland plants. This work can help with wetland mapping, wildlife habitat monitoring, conservation planning, and decisions about land and water management.
