Forever Yours
By Marcia Miner

This is the 3rd and final article in the series commemorating the 10th anniversary of Aspetuck Land Trust's acquisition of the 1009 acre Trout Brook Valley Nature Preserve in Easton and Weston. “Has is really been 10 years?” is what a number of people interviewed have said. That is because the fight to save the land is still vivid in many people's mind.

The first article documented the failed battle to stop the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company from flooding the village of Valley Forge in the 1930s, to make way for the Saugatuck Reservoir. The second article documented the determination and dedication of the thousands of people, including Paul Newman and two of his daughters, Lissy and Nell, to prevent the developer, National Fairways Inc., from building a 103 house gated subdivision that was to include a 200-acre golf course with a $100,000 membership fee. The article honored those of you who supported and helped to save the land forever. People from all occupations, from all areas donated hours and hours at meetings, on the phone and at whatever they could to make people aware and to raise the millions needed to buy Trout Brook Valley from the Aquarion-owned Bridgeport Hydraulic Company.

That said there simply are no words that could ever adequately describe this extraordinarily beautiful and wonderful open space area that is managed by the Aspetuck Land Trust for each one of you. It must be seen to be believed. It must be experienced before any words could come close to giving you that experience. It should be emphasized that while it is for everyone to enjoy and experience, it serves a life saving purpose. The Aspetuck Land Trust notes in their brochure,

“Open space creates protective buffer zones around streams and underground aquifers, reduces flood dangers, adds to the character of towns and provides a natural environment close at hand for the many who regard this as their window to the fields, wildlife, and forests which have been the heritage and recreation left to us from pioneer days,”

“There was a time there was no such thing as open space,” said Jane Talamini who grew up on Fairfield's Greenfield Hill in the 40s and 50s. “My mother sent my sister, brother and me outside and told us she would call us for lunch.” The outside was the woods next to her house where when asked what did they do outside, she said, “Oh, we rolled down the hill, or walked on the top of the stone fences and we fell which our mothers never new. We also pretended we were pioneers and built huts out of branches we found.“

This is what is missing from the lives of many children today. So much land has been developed that play which requires using one's imagination has been lost for many children. Play is programmed these days. Kids are thrown together with people who aren't necessarily their neighbors or buddies.

Chris Thomas, an Aspetuck Land Trust board member also grew up in Fairfield and remembers when he was around nine and ten years old he played where the Sara Woods development is today. Like Jane Talamini, Chris and his friends in the late 60s and 70s walked on top of the stonewalls also. They also explored, even named different sections of the woods. “Hey lets go to the mica mine,” one would yell. There they would pick off pieces of the mica and use it as play money. A favorite place, Chris said was a “green moss patch that was thick and lush.” When asked what they did there, Chris said, “We used to just lie down on it.” How simple. Nothing organized, just being kids. Wonderful. The moms would call their children in by ringing a bell. Each bell had a different ring. It really matters not if you lived in, Fairfield, Easton or Weston or even in Connecticut because no matter where you grew up, land where you played has undoubtedly been clear-cut for subdivisions, malls and roads.

Nothing can take the place of those experiences, and nothing will bring back the thousands upon thousands of “outsides,” but Trout Brook Valley is a place everyone and particularly children can have rich and exciting experiences. The stonewalls are there; the woods, the meadows and trees that clean our air are there for all to enjoy.

It seems there are little mysterious things appearing all over Trout Brook Valley. Every so often, someone comes upon a little one foot carved wooden statue of St. Francis of Assisi. They sprout out of tree stumps and have tiny signs commenting on the value of being in nature.

Trudi Zimmer Durrell, daughter-in-law of the late Jackie Durrell said she grew up next to woods between Melville and Brooklawn Avenue, in Fairfield and like Jane Talamini and Chris Thomas, she and her siblings were sent outside to play until called in for lunch or dinner. They climbed trees and played by the river that ran through the area.

Days like that for children are gone forever because over the last 50 years the “outside” has been developed. It is thanks to the people who remember those childhood days in this extended community, that today through their effort and many many others that Trout Brook Valley was saved. Dedicated people all over this country are doing all they can to preserve what now is called open space for future generations who would have no outside in their life were it not for such places being preserved for all time.

Sal Gilbirtie, a long time Easton resident, goes almost every day to Trout Brook Valley, and the word that comes to his mind when he thinks of the Valley, is “peaceful.” He said, “Mostly I have a secure feeling because I know it will always be there, for me, my children and grandchildren and that is a wonderful feeling to have.” He loves the thought that it is such a learning place. He means that it is like a school, but where learning takes place by just being there, or hearing adults tell them stories. He remembers telling his children about “Nursing logs.” Those are logs found on the ground after a tree dies and topples over. As the rotting process takes place, a cycle begins. The rotting tree breaks down and nourishes the earth by preparing it for the seedlings that will be dropped by a passing bird or falls from the fur of an animal, later to sprout and grow into a tree or a bush bearing blueberries like the ones found today in Trout Brook Valley. Everywhere there are eco-systems at work.

Walking the trails people meet others walking their dogs, riding horses or see serious hikers heading for one of the more difficult trails that take you to the top of the valley where you can see all the way to Long Island on a clear day. There are a total of 20.7 miles of trails in the conservation area. If you are a photographer or a painter, the inspiration to create the real or the abstract is there for you to capture. There also is a hunting season, dates of which can be found by calling Aspetuck Land Trust.

According to David Brant, the Aspetuck Land Trust executive director, “We want to help people explore and learn and love where they live. Trout Brook Valley does all of this and more. There is dog walking, hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing and blueberry picking. We maintain 800 blueberry bushes near the apple orchard, which provides a fabulous vista of the surrounding area. There is nothing more magical than watching a young child pick a blueberry off the bush and relish its sweetness. We also have a Class 1 native Brook Trout stream, one of only 9 such areas in the state of Connecticut. We recently constructed a fish ladder so the natural trout population can swim upstream and spawn. Every spring and fall, we offer guided hikes of Trout Brook Valley. These fun, educational hikes are very popular and can be found on our website. Brant encourages everyone who loves nature to visit the Land Trust properties, especially children. “You can't preserve what you don't love or understand,” he says. How true. And how lucky we are to have preserved this special piece of land for all time.

Aspetuck Land Trust Inc. is a member supported, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving open space in Easton, Fairfield, Weston and Westport. The Land Trust maintains 42 trailed preserves on 1,700 acres. To learn more or to become a member, visit www.aspetucklandtrust.org

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