Opening the Door to Nature, One Community at a Time

Avalonia’s new Education and Outreach Committee has been busy throughout southeastern Connecticut, introducing towns and groups to our work and providing educational events that bring new and underserved constituents into the natural world and the world of environmentalism.

The events fall into three categories: Introductory presentations for groups with little knowledge of Avalonia; outdoor events, like strolls, that educate, enliven, and surprise; and booth-sitting at fairs and festivals.

We have conducted brief presentations for the memberships of organizations like Rotary, Lions, churches, and veterans’ groups. Our senior naturalist, Bruce Fellman, led a walk during CT Trails weekend at Knox Preserve in collaboration with the Southeastern Connecticut Community Center of the Blind that welcomed people with and without visual disabilities. This walk, like most walks now sponsored by Avalonia, used a multi-sense approach that deploys all the senses in exploring an environment. Bruce came up with the term “multi-sensational” in the title of his stroll, a description that beautifully conveys the joy and immediacy of learning about our living world through sound, sight, touch, smell, and even taste. (Highly knowledgeable guidance, of course, is a requisite for safe, comprehensive exploration.)

 

A Multi-Sensational Walk at Knox Preserve

The tour, enjoyed by people with and without visual disabilities, begins on a bright summer morning.

 

Bruce points to a bird while identifying its song.

 

Bruce instructs on the different kinds of lichen before offering the opportunity to touch.

 

After samples were distributed, Bruce talks about the tactile and other qualities of milkweed leaves.

 

Bruce offers Tammy a plant to explore with her fingertips.

 

Kevin explores through smell.

 

 

On the same weekend, a new guide, Dawn Heasley, led a walk in Ledyard invitingly called “Ambling Around Avery Preserve.” This preserve is one of Avalonia’s most lovely properties, featuring a variety of walking conditions and a brook that provides a refreshing break for our canine companions.

Another tour, this one for Avalonia’s Advisory Council members and guests, was conducted by Connecticut College Arboretum Executive Director (and Council member) Maggie Redfern, who beautifully deployed the multi-sensational approach for the first time!

 

A Trip to the Connecticut College Arboretum

Maggie makes introductory remarks before the tour begins.

 

Kia enjoys the subtle, verbena-like fragrance of a just-picked Southern Magnolia flower.
The canine attendee, Charlie, is also intrigued by the fragrance!

 

The group on the bog boardwalk

 

During a pause on the Arboretum’s charming stone plaza: Josette, Kia, Adam, Catherine, Joe, and Annaliza (left to right) listen to Maggie explain qualities of the Eastern Hemlock tree that is providing shade.

 

The native cactus was an intriguing surprise.
Maggie holds a tiny pistillate flower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A view of the Weeping Hemlock that provides cooling shelter for Kia and Josette. (Their dog, Charlie, is mostly obscured by foliage.)

 

 

Dorothy smells the pleasant wintergreen scent of Black Birch leaves and stem.

 

Relaxing on log seating before heading to their vehicles: left to right, Dennis, Kia, and Rahiem (member of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Council).

 

The whole group assembles under the Eastern Red Cedar arbor that supports a vine collection.

 

 

During a very crowded season for environmental fairs, we table-sat at events sponsored by Alliance for the Mystic River Watershed, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, Connecticut College Arboretum, Eastern CT Watershed Network, and more.

Additional events are upcoming, including four Walktober programs and more introductory presentations.

This is a low-labor, high-impact committee whose members fan out across our region, often meeting with people outside the open space network and engaging with perspectives that enrich our own. If you would like to participate, please contact Elanah Sherman at elanahs@gmail.com or (860) 614-7200.