New Natural Playground at Schine Preserve
Aspetuck Land Trust has built the area’s first hands-on natural playground at our Leonard Schine Arboretum in Westport! Officially open on June 12th, the playground, designed for children ages 3-7 and built with natural materials found on the preserve, was inspired by a similar playground at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. It comprises approximately 10,000 square feet in a meadow and has areas for fort building, digging, tea-parties, tower-climbing, trail-walking, stick-stacking, nature collages and more! There is even an “elvin village” where younger visitors can play with pine cone “dolls”, honing both their imaginations and their fine motor skills. This is a great place to meet for a play date or to bring the grand children!
All of the play areas have been constructed out of natural materials, primarily red cedar, found natively in the Leonard Schine Preserve, and sticks, logs, saplings, pine cones and acorns collected by a volunteer corps made up of Land Trust members, and of nearby businesses, including DLTC USA, a local tree company owned by Westport resident Jon Sweeney. Thank you to all the volunteers who built this amazing place through which children and parents will explore nature for years to come.
The Aspetuck Land Trust believes that there are numerous benefits derived from outdoor play in a natural setting; fresh air, exercise, and imaginative play to name a few. Board Member, Chris Thomas commented: “Today's children have access to many wonders of technology, ever increasing their awareness of the world they live in. Unfortunately, a downside to the use of technology is a phenomenon that experts are calling the "nature deficit disorder".” According to the Kaiser Family Foundation researchers, Children between the ages of 6 months and 6 years spend an average of 1.5 hours with electronic media on a daily basis, whereas children between the ages of 8 and 18 years spend an average of nearly 6.5 hours a day with electronic media.1 For more information about the importance of nature and the outdoors for children and for children’s nature books, we recommend the following:
- Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
- James Prosek, Bird, Butterfly, Eel
- Jennifer Ward, I Love Dirt!: 52 Activities to Help You and Your Kids Discover the Wonders of Nature
- Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
- Richard Wiese, Born to Explore
- Children & Nature Network website
  
The Leonard Schine Preserve in Westport is located at Glendinning Place off Rte. 57/Weston Road. If coming from Merritt Pkwy, take exit 42 and go North on Weston Road/Rte 57. Drive until the first set of lights which is where Weston Road meets Lyons Plains Road and Ford Road. Go through this light approx 200 feet and take first left on Glendinning Place, a private road. Drive approx 150 feet and the preserve entrance will be on your right at the wooden guard rails. You will see a preserve sign at the roadside and a kiosk 20 feet in the woods. (See map). If you have any questions, call David at 203-331-1906 or email
1 Rideout, V. and E. Hamel. The Media Family: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Their Parents. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2006.
Children’s Hike Series aka Short Walks for Short People
The Land Trust has developed a series of hikes for children ages 4-10 to provide great family experiences in nature. These hikes will help introduce parents and their children to our preserves and provide an opportunity for guided play and exploration together. We believe that getting our children outdoors helps our community in many ways including building appreciation and support for open space.
After each hike a resource list will be provided with ideas for more things that families can do on the property after the scheduled hike (e.g., another trail); activities they can do at home in their backyards; and other Land Trust properties that offer great family features or hikes.
Please see below the hikes that were offered this year. We will be creating similar hikes next year and we look forward to seeing you on the trails!
Creative Play @ Leonard Schine Preserve (Natural Playground)
When: May 14th, Saturday, 10-11:30am (Rain Date: May 21s)
Age range: 4-10 year olds. Parent is required to attend.
Location: Leonard Schine Preserve, Westport
Walk: Land Trust members Amy Murray and Karin Layton will lead children on a nature walk, where they will make art with natural materials, and make music with recycled materials during this wonderful morning gathering. They will end the hike at the new Natural Playground for children which feature a magical elvin village, areas for fort building, tower climbing, tea-parties, and stick art.
Park: The Schine Preserve is located off of Weston Road (Rt. 57 in Westport). Park on Glendinning Road (private road), which is located 1/10 mile North of Lyons Plains Road (before W. Branch Rd Extension).
RSVP:
The Wonder of Watersheds @ Stonebridge Waterfowl Preserve
When: June 18th, Saturday, 10-11:30am (Rain Date, June 25th)
Age range: 4-10 year olds. Parent is required to attend.
Location: Stonebridge Preserve, Weston
Walk: Children will take a discovery river walk lead by Land Trust member Karin Layton and staff from the River Lab program where they will sample the Saugatuck river for plankton using magnifying glasses, walk through open meadows with wildflowers, sing river themed songs with recycled instruments, and learn about the importance of watersheds to flora, fauna and our communities. River-Lab is a unique hands-on program of environmental study for grades 3 to 6 in the Fairfield Public Schools provided by the Mill River Wetland Committee.
Park: Stonebridge Preserve parking lot is located on Newtown Tpke – near Stonebridge Rd.
RSVP:
Who Lives in the Tidal Marsh @ Great Salt Marsh Island, Fairfield
When: July 20th, Wednesday, 10am-noon (Rain Date, July 27th)
Age range: 4-10 year olds. Parent is required to attend.
Location: Ash Creek Open Space, Fairfield
Walk: Children will explore the tidal marsh! Land Trust member Karin Layton and staff from the Connecticut Audubon’s Beach Bum program will help children find, identify and observe animals, sing songs with recycled instruments, and learn about the importance of this ecosystem. We will be walking along the tidal marsh, no “crocs” please. Waterproof/rain boots or tie sneakers are recommended.
Park: Ash Creek Open Space located at the end of Turney Road in Fairfield. Drive past the gate house, take an immediate left, drive through the boaters parking area to the Open Space parking.
RSVP:
Welcome to the Farm @ Trout Brook Valley Orchard, Easton
When: August 3rd, Wednesday, 10am-noon (Rain Date, Aug 10th)
Age range: 4-10 year olds. Parent is required to attend.
Location: Freeborn Rd entrance to Trout Brook Valley, Easton
Walk: Land Trust members Karin Layton and Katie Gervasio will lead children on a hike to the blueberry orchard where they will pick blueberries and then continue to the working farm for a tour and tractor ride from Farmer Haydu! Bring your own bag so you can pick some fresh corn for dinner (if ready!). Along the way, children will learn about bee hives tended by the Backyard Beekeepers!
Park: Rte 58 (Black Rock Tpke) past Bluebird Restaurant to Freeborn Rd. Turn left on Freeborn. When woods stop on left (first house lot) look to right, there will be a dirt road thru the woods. Drive into this road to blueberry bushes to park.
RSVP:
Hike & History @ Newman Poses Preserve, Westport
When: September 10th, Saturday, 10-11:30am (Rain Date, Sept 17th)
Age range: 4-10 year olds. Parent is required to attend.
Location: Newman Poses Preserve, Westport
Walk: Land Trust members Amy Murray and Katie Gervasio and the Westport Historical Society will lead children on a nature walk and a fun history lesson of the area. Children will learn about how the land was used in colonial times, the importance of trees and how wood is used, and how people like Paul Newman and Lillian Poses made important contributions to conservation which helps our community and the plants and animals that make this preserve their home. At the end of the walk, we will read “A Tree is Nice” and create an art project.
Park: Preserve parking lot is located between 307 and 313 Bayberry Extension in Westport. Bayberry Lane Extension is north of Easton Road (Rte 136). Overflow parking can be found on old state hwy turnoff on the corner of Bayberry Lane and Easton Road.
RSVP:
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