On Saturday January 22, 19 intrepid staff and volunteers assembled at the Trout Brook Valley preserve in Weston and braved the 13 degree temperature to take part in an Avenza mapping workshop.

Looking back on the year on our preserves, we were certainly presented with many challenges, but it was a very positive year as well. Hiking and visiting open spaces were very popular covid-19 activities and our preserves received unprecedented numbers of visitors this year.

Spring is always a busy time on Aspetuck Land Trust’s preserves. The harsh winter weather and the wind and rain of early spring are not often kind to our trail systems. Clearing deadfalls, repairing boardwalks, recruiting and training volunteers and cultural activities in the Orchard and Blueberry Patch keep us very active. This year in particular has provided us with many additional challenges.

Native plants are getting a lot of attention these days. The local food web is dependent upon them. If we are to maintain healthy and diverse flora and fauna on our preserves (and in our yards, but that is fodder for another discussion), it is imperative that we deal with the increasing number of invasive species and reestablish healthy populations of native plants.

To me, the pollinator meadows, blueberry patch, apple trees and the farm fields used by Farmer Haydu comprise the orchard. The major management focus there has in recent years has been to improve the health and productivity of the blueberry patch. Hundreds of hours of labor by staff and volunteers have been spent pruning, fertilizing, and replanting new bushes to replace past losses.

This year’s crop reflects those efforts and has been bountiful, to say the least. The time is now to pick some berries; peak production is probably the second and third weeks in July with many varieties extending the season into August.

Story about Orchard and future.

Ah, spring. Following the long winter when many leave for work before dawn and return after dark we begin to reconnect with the natural world around us. Get outside – please! There is so much to see and observe. New plants are emerging every day. Birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and insects are displaying, mating, nesting and having their young. It is a great time to visit our preserves and natural areas (provided you don’t mind the black flies). Be mindful, however, that we are visitors to the preserves, intruders if you will. Stay on the trails, keep dogs leashed and on the trails -- even if you are on an off-leash trail). Avoid trampling the sensitive wildflowers and please keep dogs away from the vernal pools and pick up and remove their waste.