Past Events
Mission:The Moon–Astronomy Observing Session
Time: 7:00 to 10:00 pm
Place: Register to learn location
Contact Email: scott.mallory@gmail.com
Come out and scan the surface of the first quarter moon. Bring your own scope or use one of ours. Learn how to move different telescope types, then take turns surveying the surface of the moon on your own under the watchful eye of Scott Mallory or Alan Sheiness. No prior experience necessary!
Bring a folding chair and binoculars if you have them. Ordinary flashlights (white lights) are highly discouraged on the far side of the pond. Use red lens caps or red light flashlights. Come any time during the session if you park in the lot a short way from the site and walk in. If you have equipment to set up and want to drive to the site, arrive before dark and plan to stay the whole time so you don’t disturb others when you leave. Leave no trace. Take out what you bring in. No smoking or alcohol consumption.
Reservations required. scott.mallory@gmail.com. Details will be sent with registration.
For more information about the astronomy program
Nix the Knotweed Day
Time: 9:30 am-11:30 am
Place: Various Locations (same locations as May)
Contact Email: openspace@townlyme.org
Help us Nix the Knotweed! Join our work party to help remove invasive knotweed from a few areas in Lyme and learn to control Knotweed on your own property. Or join the day and remove knotweed on your own property. We will tackle the knotweed using the “method of 3s”: cut knotweed down to the ground and bag the plant material; 3 chops this growing season (May, mid-July, and August 15) We will repeat this for 3 years to take care of the knotweed for good without using herbicide. The cuttings must be carefully disposed of since each little piece will regrow into a new plant. We will fully solarize all plant material in the bags to kill it, before safe disposal. For a brochure on Nix the Knotweed Method of 3s.
Or, if you wish, you may eat it. It is edible!
Bring clippers or loppers, work gloves, and your own water bottle. We’ll provide the bags!
Please register: Openspace@townlyme.org for directions and more information. Sponsored by the Town of Lyme, Friends of Whalebone Cove, and Lyme Land Trust.
Japanese knotweed is an invasive plant which crowds out native plants that pollinators and other wildlife depend upon for survival.
Breakfast with the Trees | Forest Bathing
Time: 8:30-10:30 am
Place: Hartman Park, Goodwin Trail Entrance, Gungy Rd., Lyme CT (1.75 miles north of the intersection of Gungy Rd. and Beaver Brook Rd.)
Contact Email: regan@awakentheforestwithin.com
Wake with the trees and ease into the day. Enjoy an early morning contemplative walk and guided forest bathing session at Hartman Park. As we walk along the trail, your certified forest therapy guide, Regan Stacey, will offer you a series of sensory-opening invitations designed to help you connect with the natural world in your own authentic way.
We will stop at Turtle Rock to enjoy a picnic breakfast and tea. Please pack a breakfast or snack. Light treats and a wild-foraged tea will be provided.
The walk is about 1-mile over easy to moderate terrain. For trail map: Hartman Park.
Rain or shine.
Registration required. $32.00 per person – includes the program, light treats, and tea (Please bring your picnic breakfast.) Registration closes July 9th at 5 PM. Lyme Land Trust members receive 15% off with the discount code LLT15.
To register, click here.
Forest bathing is inspired by the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku – taking in the forest atmosphere. As a growing global wellness movement, it is backed by nearly 40 years of scientific research on the holistic benefits of immersing yourself in nature. These benefits include reduced stress and blood pressure, increased creativity and focus, improved mood and sleep, and a boost to immune functions.
Regan Stacey is an artist and environmentalist whose passion is to re-connect humans to nature for the betterment of themselves, their communities, and our beautiful planet, Earth. She is also co-founder of The Forest Therapy School, training forest therapy guides to share this work around the world. Locally, she is involved in a number of nature-based organizations and facilitates three kids’ clubs through the Lyme Land Trust.
Sound Bath–A Concert by Rooted Endurance
Time: 6:00-7:00 pm
Place: Diana's Field in Banningwood Preserve, 19 Town Street (Rte 82), Lyme CT
Contact Email: colleenkalexander@gmail.com
Join us for a Sound Bath, an exhilarating event that brings a feeling of peace and rejuvenation. Sound Bath is a relaxation technique and meditative experience whereby participants ‘bathe’ in the sound waves produced by the complex harmonics of the human voice as well as instruments such as chimes, gongs, and singing bowls.
Sean and Colleen Alexander, of Rooted Endurance, provide a multifaceted sound emersion performance that invites an exploration of your internal self. Create space for self-healing, sound massage, contemplative listening, relaxation, and rejuvenation; move prana (life force) through the body; deliver a deep, energetic reboot to the nervous system; and allow you to let go of everything that is not supporting you. The results are waves of peace, heightened awareness, and relaxation of the mind and body.
You are welcome to bring your own water, mat, light blanket or sheet, and pillow and eye covers for this enjoyable experience. Bring a picnic to enjoy after the concert.
A suggested donation of $10.00 minimum will be collected on the day of the event, with all proceeds to benefit The Lyme Land Trust.
Wildflower Seed-Bomb Making Workshop
Time: 10:00 am-12:00 pm
Place: Lymes' Youth Service Bureau, 59 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT
Contact Email: Lymepollinator@gmail.com
Join Lyme Pollinator Pathway to learn how to make wildflower seed bombs! Take some home, add some to our pile to plant in the fall at a community garden space.
Take a Bee LYME from Spring 2021 to Spring 2022. For more information, click on the poster to enlarge. Kids who attend all four free events will be rewarded with a Lyme Pollinator Pathway t-shirt sponsored by Lymes’ Youth Services Bureau.
Spaces are limited. Registration is required for each program. Sponsored by Lyme Land Trust and LYSB.
Imagining Lyme – Walk and Take Photos with Wendolyn Hill
Time: 9:00-11:00 am
Place: Pleasant Valley Preserve, MacIntosh Rd., Lyme CT
Contact Email: education@lymelandtrust.org
You are invited to a walk guided by Wendolyn Hill to take photos that express a feeling of depth. As we explore, Wendolyn will give insight into his creative process for expressing an artistic vision in photography. Wendolyn is an art professor and an amateur photographer. She is Open Space Coordinator of the Town of Lyme and a Lyme Land Trust board member.
The walk is part of the Lyme Land Trust amateur photography program: Imagining Lyme – A Visual Exploration of Lyme’s Preserves, which encourages people to expand their visual awareness while highlighting the beauty of Lyme Preserves through photographs. Participants will be provided with short, simple non-technical photo-taking tips from Joe Standart. The deadline for submission of photos about “Depth” is June 19, 2021. Three photos of distinction will be chosen.
Reservations are required. Space is limited.
To reserve, a space on the walk, email: education@lymelandtrust.org
Discover Reptiles & Amphibians with Herpetologist, Dennis Quinn
Date: Sat June 26, 2021Time: 9:00-11:00 am or 12:00-2:00 pm
Place: Hartman Park, Gungy Rd. Lyme
Contact Email: rdoherty@eightmileriver.org
Presenter: Eight Mile River Wild and Scenic Watershed Committee
Catch and observe different species using professional field equipment. For more information, click on the poster to enlarge.
To register: rdoherty@eightmileriver.org. Indicate your name, # of people attending and session you prefer.
Tuesday Trek: Burnham Brook Preserve, East Haddam
Time: 9:30 -11:30 am
Place: Burnham Brook Preserve, Dolbia Hill Rd., East Haddam
Contact Email: openspace@townlyme.org
Presenter: Wendy Hill
Burnham Brook Preserve, Dolbia Hill Rd., East Haddam–Directions: At the end of Rte. 156, take a right onto Rte. 82, travel 2.7 miles, take left onto Woodbridge Road, travel 1 mile (stay right), take left onto Dolbia Hill Rd. Park by Preserve sign along the side of the road. 2.4 mile trail loop in pristine upland forest with a section along vibrant Burnham Brook.
Wendy Hill–Reserve a spot: openspace@townlyme.org
View the Tuesday Trek Schedule
Join us for a refreshing morning walk on a Lyme preserve led by a board or staff member of the Lyme Land Trust. The leaders will alternate each week between Sue Cope, Wendy Hill, and Kristina White with Brady, canine guide. The walks are moderately easy unless noted. Bring a water bottle and dress for the weather.
Space is limited to 5 people. Reservations are required. Contact walk leader to reserve.
Masks can be removed during the walk as long as social distancing is maintained.
Inclement weather cancels.
Summer Solstice Forest Bathing
Time: 2:00-4:00 pm
Place: Pleasant Valley preserve, McIntosh Rd., Lyme CT
Contact Email: regan@awakentheforestwithin.com
Join us in celebration of the Summer Solstice as we welcome the longest day of the year. Honor the light of the Earth and the light in you. Special activities include a group mandala in honor of Earth on this special day.
On this 2-hour forest bathing walk, you’ll be guided on a gentle, mindful stroll. Leave your stresses behind and connect with the healing powers of nature. As we walk along the easy one-mile trail, your certified forest therapy guide, Regan Stacey, will offer you a series of sensory-opening “invitations” designed to help you connect with the natural world in your own authentic way.
The walk concludes with a wild-foraged tea.
Folding stools are available for your use, or bring along your own stool or sit mat.
Rain or shine. Heavy rain cancels. If canceled, an email will go out 2 hours prior to the walk.
Parking: Please park in the lot on MacIntosh Road just off Rt. 156. If the lot is full, please park along the road.
$32.00 per person. Registration required. Lyme Land Trust members receive 15% off with the discount code LLT15.
Regan Stacy is the founder of Awaken the Forest Within, an organization that offers forest bathing walks. Forest bathing is inspired by the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku – taking in the forest atmosphere. As a growing global wellness movement, it is backed by nearly 40 years of scientific research on the holistic benefits of immersing yourself in nature. These benefits include reduced stress and blood pressure, increased creativity and focus, improved mood and sleep, and a boost to immune functions.
Chestnut Tree Hike in Nehantic State Forest
Time: 10:00 am-12:00 pm
Place: Nehantic State Forest, Holmes Rd Parking Lot, East Lyme
Contact Email: education@lymelandtrust.org
Join Emery Gluck, retired CT DEEP forester, and Jack Swatt, President of the CT Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation for a walk to see some of the largest surviving chestnut trees in Connecticut. Large chestnut trees are rarely seen since they were devastated by a blight 100 years ago. Emery Gluck will talk about forest history and explain the management of the forest. The hike will be about one-mile along the Goodwin Trail at Nehantic State Forest in East Lyme to reach these beautiful trees. Some off-trail hiking will be required to see the second tree. Most of the hike is generally easy terrain with a few ups and downs. Sturdy shoes are a must; a walking stick would be helpful as well. Bring water.
Space is limited. Reservations are required. Contact education@lymelandtrust.org to reserve a spot.
Directions from Rte. 156 in Lyme: Take Beaver Brook Rd. 3.7 miles to a left on Old Grassy Hill Rd. Travel 1.5 miles to left on Upper Walnut Hill Rd. Follow about 1 mile to end. Take left on Holmes Rd. Follow to the parking area for Nehantic State Forest.
Social distancing will be followed based on current policies.
Rain day is Sunday, June 20 at 10 am.
