After three of us scrambled this week up a series of rocky ridges leading to a modest summit generously called Popp Mountain, we caught a distant glimpse of a glittering body of water.

This was the Saugatuck Reservoir, which spreads out over 880 heavily forested acres straddling the Fairfield County towns of Redding, Weston, and Easton.

Had Phil Plouffe, Andy Lynn and I climbed this hill a century ago, we would have gazed at Valley Forge, a village where the nation’s first iron plows once were manufactured. This tiny hamlet (not to be confused with the Revolutionary War encampment in Pennsylvania) had been settled by Welsh immigrants in 1760. Connecticut’s Valley Forge now lies some 100 feet underwater.

Today, the Trout Brook Valley preserve, owned and managed by the Aspetuck Land Trust, is a pristine swath of open space that features 13 miles of hiking trails. It also abuts the 162-acre Crow Hill and 117-acre Jump Hill preserves, crisscrossed by an additional 6.4 miles of footpaths.

I have been walking in Aspetuck Land Trust's (ALT) Newman Poses Preserve for the past eight years. After spending almost every day there during quarantine, I decided to officially become a land steward there, taking on the responsibilities of basic trail maintenance.

Come with me on a walk through the park as I try to preserve and protect these beautiful woods.

One of Westport’s hidden jewels – with acres of trails, teeming with native flowers, plants and wildlife – lies just off Compo Road South.

It’s not the Baron’s property. Most Westporters know that land, complete with a decaying house and overgrown paths. The town owns it, but for two decades has been unable to decide what to do with it.

The real hidden jewel is less than half a mile away, on the other side of the street. There, on Green Acre Lane, sits the Caryl and Edna Haskins Preserve.

Aspetuck Land Trust acquired 7.8 acres of open space at 38 Guinea Road in Monroe this month. The property, which has glacial features, a pond, streams and wetlands, is the first acquisition of town land since Aspetuck Land Trust (ALT) merged with the Monroe Land Trust last year.

Many people treasure childhood memories of catching fireflies on warm summer evenings. As the sun goes down, the insects emerge to light up the night.

If you’ve noticed this summer is especially colorful in Westport and thereabouts, you’re not alone. Fireflies appear abundant.

The state is focusing on purchasing and protecting more than 1,000 acres of open space through 15 projects in Connecticut communities, including Wilton, Redding and Weston.

Connecticut will be providing the Aspetuck Land Trust​ a grant of $398,125​ to preserve nearly 10 acres of land in Wilton. This will be the sixth acquisition by the Aspetuck Land Trust in the 705-acre contiguous forest known as the Weston/Wilton Forest Block.

EASTON — A town-owned piece of land on South Park Avenue will be sold to the Aspetuck Land Trust, after residents voted in support of the transaction in a referendum on Tuesday.

First Selectman David Bindelglass said it was great the sale was approved by residents, especially by such a large margin — with 1,058 residents voting in favor and 574 voting against.

The most recent United Nations climate report reminds us, once again, of what we already know: The steady rise in global temperature spells catastrophe. We must adapt to what cannot be undone and commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels.

In Genesis, God divides dark and night, earth and sea, then gives Adam the job of naming Eden’s creatures.

In Ursula K. Le Guin’s 1985 short story “She Unnames Them,” Eve, dissatisfied with the arbitrariness of the whole set-up, frees the birds and beasts from Adam’s labeling. Nobody really minds.

“Without names, we can’t communicate,” Prosek said at the Westport Library last week. “But it can create these separations.”

Prosek — acclaimed as an artist, writer and naturalist — gave the Caryl & Edna Haskins lecture for the Aspetuck Land Trust, which serves the towns of Westport, Weston, Easton, Fairfield and Monroe. It was the first time the land trust held a public event since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and the library’s lecture space was nearly full for Prosek’s talk.

As rural landscapes in Connecticut have been increasingly transformed in recent decades by commercial and residential development, the state has seen a precipitous decline in native plants—335 species, or 19 percent, are on the state’s list of Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern. A decline in bees and other pollinators that rely on these species has ensued.

James Prosek, who grew up in Easton, will give a talk about his art and the need to protect the beauty of our natural. Prosek’s talk “Trespassing and Conservation,” will be held on April 6 at 7 p.m. at the Westport Library Forum will draw attention to the beauty of our natural world while urging us to protect, conserve and connect our lands restoring a healthy ecosystem for all.

by Gabby DeBenedictis, Patch Staff

WESTPORT, CT — James Prosek, a conservationist and author whose career was inspired by his childhood spent "trespassing" the Aspetuck Reservoir area, will talk conservation at the Westport Public Library next month.

Director of Landowner Engagement Mary Ellen Lemay talks about upcoming events and answers questions on the Lisa Wexler Show.

The wolf I have in mind is really a type of tree. Even though they are rare, there are quite a few here in Easton. The term wolf tree does not refer to any one species but rather it is a designation based on age and traits.

Executive Director David Brant talks about our recent land acquisitions in the Weston Wilton Forest Reserve on the Lisa Wexler Show.

Weston, CT - Aspetuck Land Trust reports the great news that this week it closed on a property -- one it had been working to attain for 10 year. It is the the 10-acre Montanaro property show in the attached map.

"As you can see, it is located in a critical spot — a doughnut hole in the Weston Wilton Forest Reserve," shared ALT Executive Director David Brant. "If the planned two large houses had been built there, cars and trucks would have driven right through one of our oldest preserves, 119-acre Honey Hill."

Last week you may have received a pamphlet from Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG) about Aspetuck Land Trust’s (ALT) proposed purchase of 18.6 acres of the 29.5- acre South Park property owned by the Town of Easton. We’d like to offer a few clarifications.

ALT’s mission is the preservation and conservation of open space for the benefit and education of the public and future generations. Founded in 1966 as a nonprofit member-supported organization, we have already conserved 1,450 acres in Easton. ALT’s interest is solely in saving the land, not in local politics.