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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Avalonia Land Conservancy
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240403T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240403T200000
DTSTAMP:20260429T194917
CREATED:20240308T171600Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240403T171029Z
UID:7358-1712167200-1712174400@avalonia.org
SUMMARY:Vernal Pool Adventure at Babcock Ridge - CANCELLED
DESCRIPTION:CANCELLED DUE TO WIND AND RAIN. NEW DATE TBD. \n  \nThere’s no better way to celebrate the arrival of spring than to visit a woodland pond alive with the sights and sounds of newly awakened amphibians and invertebrates — and there’s no more exciting time to do so than at dusk when the local vernal pools are a noisy chorus of quacking wood frogs and bell-ringing spring peepers. As the skies darken\, we’ll follow our ears for about a half-mile hike to the center of the Babcock Ridge Preserve where a dry hole last autumn is now a rain-soaked “wicked big puddle.”  \nThis brimful temporary pond is a wetland nursery filled with a variety of exciting creatures. In addition to frogs\, we’ll likely see marbled salamander youngsters\, fairy shrimp\, giant predaceous diving beetles\, and the stars of the show\, the exquisite yellow-spotted salamanders. We’ll use nets to collect pond residents and examine them at close range before releasing them unharmed\, and if we’re especially lucky\, we might also hear the booming hoots of barred owls and the peents of woodcock.   \nBring a flashlight and a headlamp\, wear warm clothes and waterproof boots\, and don’t forget your spirit of adventure and curiosity on this family-friendly exploration of a fascinating part of the natural world.   \nWalk leader Bruce Fellman has been introducing people to vernal pool life for almost half-a-century. For more information\, contact the leader at bruce.fellman@yale.edu or 860-599-4867.  \nTo register for the adventure\, which is free and open to the public but limited to 25 people\, click on the link below. This program tends to fill up quickly\, but If there’s sufficient interest\, we’ll try to schedule additional walks. Note: heavy rain will postpone to Thursday\, the 21st\, same time\, but light rain will be just perfect for bringing out the critters — and raincoat-clad naturalists. \n  \nREGISTER HERE \n  \n*** \nAccessibility Note \nParking: Small off-street lot\, packed dirt surface\, no accessible space\, room for 7-8 cars. Lot located at Babcock Ridge Preserve trailhead. Additional parking available along the road. \nTrails: Narrow in spots\, some slopes\, some protrusions into pathway\, occasional wet areas. Off-pathway walking through open woods to vernal pool. Sampling for organisms involves dip-netting and getting hands wet. The hike back to the parking area takes place in the dark and is illuminated by flashlights and headlamps. \nCommunication: This walk will be amplified and may include live sonograms that provide pictorial representation of frog and bird calls. \nAvalonia Accessibility Statement: https://avalonia.org/accessibility-for-people-with-disabilities-statement/ \nAccessibility point person: Mary Anne Sherman\, 860-884-3500 or avalonialc@yahoo.com \n 
URL:https://avalonia.org/event/vernal-pool-adventure-at-babcock-ridge/
LOCATION:Babcock Ridge\, 113 Babcock Road\, North Stonington\, CT\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exploration,Family,Hikes,Walks,Water
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://avalonia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DSC_9640AsamplingBab.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240413
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240415
DTSTAMP:20260429T194917
CREATED:20240403T163612Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240404T174846Z
UID:7448-1712966400-1713139199@avalonia.org
SUMMARY:Third Annual Stewardship Day - Saturday April 13\, 2024
DESCRIPTION:Spring has sprung and it’s time to clean up the trails!  If you are itching to get outside\, we have multiple opportunities to help clear the trails\, remove invasives\, plant trees\, and more.   Stewardship activities will be on Saturday\, April 13.  Times and activities may vary by location – see below for preserve locations and details.  \nIn general\, bring gloves\, bug spray\, drinking water and task appropriate hand tools  (if you have them.)  If you don’t have them\, that is OK – we try to have extras.   \nRegister here! \nGriswold \n\nDate: Saturday April 13\, 2024 \nLocation: Dutka Nature Preserve  (Dutka Lane parking lot immediately off Bethel Road on right-hand side)\nTime: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm\nActivity: Trail work and trash pick up\nWhat to Bring: Work clothes\, work boots\, work gloves\, loppers\, hand saws\, Gloves\, bug spray\, water\, loppers and handsaws\nLeader: Dick Conant (contact details will be sent out to registrants)\n\nGroton \n\nDate: Saturday April 13\, 2024\nLocation: Leo Antonino Preserve (parking along Antonino Road).\nTime: 9:00 am -12:00 pm\nActivity: Brush and branches clean up (Spring Cleanup)\nWhat to Bring: Gloves\, bug spray\, water\, loppers\nLeader: Bonnie Castellani (contact details will be sent out to registrants)\n\nNorth Stonington  \n\nDate: Saturday April 13\, 2024 (rain date Sunday April 14)\nLocation: Herman E. Sheets Family Forest (parking area adjacent to the mailbox  for 94 Puttker Road). Carpool if possible.\nTime: 9:00 am -12:00 pm\nActivity: Planting of white and red oak seedlings- for more detail click here.\nWhat to Bring: Gloves\, bug spray\, water\, shovel/spade/other planting implements\nLeader: Tobias Glaza (contact details will be sent out to registrants)\n\nStonington \n\nDate: Saturday April 13\, 2024\nLocation: Knox Preserve (parking on the north side of Wilcox Road)\nTime: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm \nActivity: Clearing vegetation from stone walls  \nWhat to Bring: work gloves\, hand tools (pruners\, clippers or loppers – pls mark your own tools)\, and water\nLeader: Beth Sullivan\, Susan Hibbard\, MaryEllen Mateleska  (contact details will be sent out to registrants)\n\nLedyard \n\nDate: Saturday April 13\, 2024\nLocation: Samuel Lamb and Forsberg Preserve (parking along Town Farm Road)\nTime: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm \nActivity: Clearing vegetation from stone walls. \nDescription:  This is a continuation of work done during a similar event in late February.\nWhat to Bring: Gloves\, water bottle\, hand saw and/or loppers\, tick repellant.  Poison ivy may be present\, so\, in addition to gloves\, long sleeves recommended\nLeader: Laurie Gorham (contact details will be sent out to registrants)\n\nRegister here!
URL:https://avalonia.org/event/third-annual-stewardship-day-saturday-april-13-2024/
LOCATION:CT
CATEGORIES:Stewardship,Volunteering
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://avalonia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Image-for-Stewardship-Day-2024.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240413T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240413T120000
DTSTAMP:20260429T194917
CREATED:20240328T211035Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240328T223333Z
UID:7452-1712998800-1713009600@avalonia.org
SUMMARY:White and Red Oak Planting at the Herman E. Sheets Family Forest
DESCRIPTION:Join us from 9-12 Saturday April 13th in North Stonington at the Herman E. Sheets Family Forest to help plant bare root oak seedlings!\nThis spring we begin the second phase of a larger\, multi-year restoration effort\, in which volunteers\, together with Avalonia staff\, will work to get more than 300 red oak (Quercus rubra) and white oak (Quercus alba) seedlings into the ground.  \nNearly a decade ago\, the combined stressors of Spongy moth and drought served to weaken and ultimately kill many mature stands of oak in the region.  Sadly\, this preserve was no exception.  With natural regeneration being limited\, we instituted a restoration plan\, a part of which includes planting and then protecting seedlings from deer browse. \n \nStaff and volunteers will provide a brief tutorial\, but\, other than that\, no special skill set is needed! Bring a shovel/spade\, gloves\, sturdy footwear\, bug/tick repellant\, and drinking water.  If you don’t have tools\, extras will be available. Work at your own pace\, stay as long as you like\, and consider hiking the beautiful trail system afterwards. \nWe will meet at the Puttker Road parking area (across from 94 Puttker Road) at 9:00 AM and shuttle the short distance from there to a convenient access point.  There is limited off street parking\, so please consider carpooling to the event. Rain date of Sunday April 14. \nThis restoration effort is funded\, in part\, by a generous grant from the North Stonington Garden Club. \nFor more details\, contact Director of Stewardship\, Tobias Glaza at tglaza@avalonialc.org \nP.S.  You will see this opportunity referenced again in the context of a forthcoming Avalonia-wide Stewardship Day post.  
URL:https://avalonia.org/event/white-and-red-oak-planting-at-the-herman-e-sheets-family-forest/
LOCATION:Sheets Family Forest\, Puttker Road\, North Stonington\, CT\, United States
CATEGORIES:Conservation,Stewardship,Volunteering
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://avalonia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Second-day-of-Sheets-planting-scaled.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240420T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240420T160000
DTSTAMP:20260429T194917
CREATED:20240308T173816Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240308T191440Z
UID:7364-1713610800-1713628800@avalonia.org
SUMMARY:Groton Earth Day Expo
DESCRIPTION:You are invited to join us at the Groton Earth Day Expo at the Groton Public Library on Saturday\, April 20\, 2024!  \nThe mission of this event is to provide community members education and resources to live more sustainably. At the inaugural event in 2023\, there were over 40 exhibitors\, crafters\, and guest speakers sharing sustainable initiatives\, green living\, climate awareness\, volunteer opportunities\, and more\, with hundreds of attendees from New London County and beyond.  \nWe look forward to seeing you!
URL:https://avalonia.org/event/groton-earth-day-expo/
LOCATION:Groton Public Library\, 52 Newtown Road\, Groton\, CT\, 06340
CATEGORIES:Community,Educational,Family,Festivals,Workshops
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://avalonia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Earth-Day-Expo-2024.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240421T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240421T120000
DTSTAMP:20260429T194917
CREATED:20240308T214921Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240419T171322Z
UID:7368-1713693600-1713700800@avalonia.org
SUMMARY:Honoring Earth Day with a Wild Flora Walk at the Benedict Benson Preserve
DESCRIPTION:  \nLed by Avalonia naturalist Bruce Fellman\, trek through the Benedict Benson Preserve to watch its uplands\, centerpiece stream\, and wetlands come to life with greening ferns\, mosses\, and wildflowers\, from the rare Hepatica to the ubiquitous marsh marigolds. \nREGISTER HERE \n  \nOne of the critical precursors of the passage of the Clean Water Act\, the landmark federal legislation whose 50 years of making a difference was celebrated in 2022\, is Earth Day\, the consciousness-raising holiday for the planet that began in 1970. As part of Avalonia’s ongoing tribute to the CWA\, join naturalist and guide Bruce Fellman as we wade into moving waters\, figuratively\, if not literally\, at the Benedict Benson Preserve on Sunday\, April 21\, shortly after Earth Day\, from 10 a.m. until noon\, in North Stonington to watch the refuge’s wetlands and its centerpiece stream come to life: a tribute to wise stewardship. \nIn keeping with our theme\, we’ll pay close attention to the area around Lantern Brook\, a delightful woodland stream that flows through the heart of the preserve and is wonderfully photogenic as it tumbles down a boulder field left behind by the glaciers that shaped this land. The area around the brook is paradise for botanists interested in mosses\, ferns\, lichens\, and wildflowers\, and while there are certain to be such stalwarts as Wood anemones\, a number of violets\, and Marsh marigolds in bloom\, there’s one botanical gem known as the hepatica that we’ll scramble up a favored hillside to seek out. Hepaticas thrive in specific\, rather “sweet” soil conditions unusual in our woods\, but Benson has the right stuff in one area. \nThe Preserve features a typical Southern New England post-agricultural-abandonment upland forest dominated by oaks\, beeches\, birches\, and hickories\, many of them fully mature. Some are home to striking Pileated Woodpeckers\, while others support a wide array of hardwood-forest songbirds\, the most intriguing of which is the Cerulean Warbler. This stunning bird\, which is listed as a Species of Special Concern in Connecticut\, has been seen and heard at Benson and the surrounding area\, and is one of the treasures we’ll be looking for as we walk the approximately mile and a half trail system in search of signs of spring. \nThe trailhead for the Benedict Benson Preserve is located at 100 Swantown Hill Road in North Stonington.  A small parking area is on the West side of the road and there’s more parking on either side of Swantown. For more information and to register\, visit the Events Calendar of Avalonia’s website: avalonia.org/events/ Please note: parts of the trail are pretty rugged\, so while my pace is always family-friendly\, the terrain\, particularly our scramble up a rocky hillside in search of wildflowers\, might not be suitable for small kids and the occasional elder. You’ll want to wear waterproof hiking boots\, and trekking poles might be a good idea\, too. Bring water and an energy bar\, and\, of course\, binoculars and cameras.  Don’t hesitate to call or email: 860-599-4867\, or fellnature@sbcglobal.net. \n*** \nAccessibility Note \nAvalonia Accessibility Statement: https://avalonia.org/accessibility-for-people-with-disabilities-statement/ \nAccessibility point person: Mary Anne Sherman\, 860-884-3500 or avalonialc@yahoo.com \n  \n  \n*** \nThe featured image is by Jodi Williams taken at Benedict Benson Preserve. Jodi received an Honorable Mention in the Wildflowers category in Avalonia’s 2023 Photo Contest.
URL:https://avalonia.org/event/honoring-earth-day-with-a-wild-flora-walk-at-the-benedict-benson-preserve/
LOCATION:Benedict Benson Preserve\, Swantown Hill Road\, North Stonington\, CT\, 06359\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community,Exploration,Family,Hikes,Nature,Walks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://avalonia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Wildflowers2_Williams.png
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