Past Events
Sapling Club-Outside Play for Elementary School-Aged Kids
Time: 1:30-2:30 pm
Place: Banningwood Preserve, Town Street, Lyme CT
Contact Email: reganstacey@gmail.com
Join our monthly group for elementary-aged children. Enjoy free play in the forest with friends! We’ll meet up the second Saturday of each month from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Banningwood Preserve. Parents are welcome to stay or drop-off.
The Sapling Club is limited to 15 participants per meet-up.
Registration required, please contact Regan Stacey at reganstacey@gmail.com.
The club is organized by two volunteers, Regan Stacey and Angel Santos Burres. Both have children in the LOL school district.
Environmentalist/artist Regan Stacey currently runs the Tree Collective, a program for teens. She owns Awaken the Forest Within, a mindfulness-based practice that helps [re]connect people to nature for the betterment of themselves and the earth
Angel relocated to Old Lyme this fall after 20 years of non-profit work in Greater Boston. Most recently, she was the director of Outdoors Rx, a program of the Appalachian Mountain Club. Angel encouraged families to explore the outdoors together with a focus on local spaces. She is thrilled to explore all of the nearby woods, marshes, lakes, rivers, and ocean and hopes to meet you on the trail.
Hiking Club for Middle Schoolers
Time: 3:00-4:30 pm
Place: Ravine Trail Preserve, Joshuatown Rd, Lyme CT–Parking at Selden Creek Preserve lot.
Contact Email: reganstacey@gmail.com
Join our group for middle school-aged children. Come hike the trails! Every month the hike will be an adventure to explore the natural world. It meets the second Saturday of each month in a different preserve.
The club is organized by two volunteers, Regan Stacey and Angel Santos Burres. Both have children in the LOL school district.
Environmentalist/artist Regan Stacey currently runs the Tree Collective, a Lyme Land Trust program for teens. She owns Awaken the Forest Within, a mindfulness-based practice that helps [re]connect people to nature for the betterment of themselves and the earth
Angel relocated to Old Lyme this fall after 20 years of non-profit work in Greater Boston. Most recently, she was the director of Outdoors Rx, a program of the Appalachian Mountain Club. Angel encouraged families to explore the outdoors together with a focus on local spaces. She is thrilled to explore all of the nearby woods, marshes, lakes, rivers, and ocean and hopes to meet you on the trail.
Tuesday Trek: Jewett Preserve/Johnston Preserve
Time: 9:30 am -11 am
Place: Pleasant Valley Preserve, Cemetery Entrance, Mt. Archer Rd., Lyme CT
Contact Email: Kristina.white@lymelandtrust.org
Presenter: Kristina White
Jewett Preserve/Johnston Preserve. Meet at the cemetery parking lot for Jewett on Mt. Archer Rd. Hike the red trail then head into Johnston to the highest Point in Lyme and then back through Jewett. 3.5 – 4 miles
Contact: Kristina.white@lymelandtrust.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.
Please be safe- wear a mask in the parking lot. Masks can be removed during the walk as long as social distancing is maintained.
Inclement weather cancels.
Walk with Joe Standart, Photographer–Imagining Lyme-Space Available
Time: 8:30-10:30 am
Place: Banningwood Preserve, Town St., Lyme CT
Contact Email: education@lymelandtrust.org
You are invited to a walk guided by photographer Joe Standart, to experience the feeling of depth in images. As we explore, Joe will give insight into his creative process for expressing an artistic vision in photography. Joe is an internationally recognized award-winning photographer 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 10 people including the leader. Please be safe- wear a mask when meeting in the parking lot. Social distancing guidelines will be followed.
To reserve, a space on the walk, email: education@lymelandtrust.org
Tuesday Trek: Pleasant Valley Preserve
Time: 9:30 am -11 am
Place: Pleasant Valley Preserve, McIntosh Rd., Lyme CT
Contact Email: sue.cope@lymelandtrust.org
Presenter: Sue Cope
Pleasant Valley Preserve. Meet at McIntosh Rd. Parking lot.
To reserve a space: sue.cope@lymelandtrust.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.
Please be safe- wear a mask in the parking lot. Masks can be removed during the walk as long as social distancing is maintained.
Inclement weather cancels.
Reading the Landscape – Talk and Walk with Anthony Irving
Time: 10:00 am-12:00 pm
Place: Brockway-Hawthorne Preserve, Brush Hill Road, Lyme
Contact Email: education@lymelandtrust.org
The walk is full. Send an email to be put on the waiting list. Anthony Irving, a well-known forest ecologist, will lead a Talk and Walk at the Brockway-Hawthorne Preserve. He will point out examples of glacial forces that influenced the historical uses of the land and how they continue to shape the forest ecology we see today. He will also talk about the importance of vernal pools. Anthony is a Lyme Land Trust board member and chairman of the Eightmile River Wild and Scenic Committee.
The walk is family-friendly and will take about 2 hours.
Space is limited and social distancing guidelines will be followed. Registration required: education@lymelandtrust.org
Tuesday Trek: Griswold Point, Old Lyme
Time: 10:00 am-12:00 pm
Place: Griswold Point, Old Lyme, CT
Contact Email: openspace@townlyme.org
Presenter: Wendy Hill
Walk to Griswold Point, Old Lyme, Meet at the White Sands Beach Parking Lot, Seaside Lane. We will walk along the beach to the point of this Nature Conservancy Property, which is only passable at low tide. About 2.5 miles. Bring your binoculars.
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.
Please be safe- wear a mask in the parking lot. Masks can be removed during the walk as long as social distancing is maintained.
Inclement weather cancels.
Lyme Pollinator Pathway Kick-off Part Two!–Presentation by Filmmaker Catherine Zimmerman
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Zoom Presentation
Contact Email: Lymepollinator@gmail.com
Join us for part two of an Earth Day kick-off of Lyme Pollinator Pathway! We will bring you an inspiring live zoom presentation with producer/director Catherine Zimmerman to celebrate the launch. For two years, she and her film crew traveled around the country to create Hometown Habitat – Stories of Bringing Nature Home. They filmed inspiring stories of community commitment to protect the landscape and habitat of pollinators. Zimmerman shares these success stories and works in-progress that re-awaken and re-define our relationship with nature. The message will inspire you – all of us have the power to support habitat for wildlife and bring natural beauty to our patch of the Earth.
During the weekend before Catherine’s presentation, we have provided you with the opportunity to watch the movie Hometown Habitat-Stories of Bringing Nature Home, It is accessible at any time for free streaming from Friday, April 16 to Sunday, April 18, 2021. The movie is not available to watch online at other times. For more information on the movie streaming.
Sue Cope will moderate the April 19 program and explain the Lyme Pollinator Pathway effort. Lyme Pollinator Pathway was established on February 4, 2021. As part of a national effort, Lyme Pollinator Pathway aims to help Lyme neighbors and friends create and connect pollinator-friendly habitats with food sources for bees, butterflies, birds, and other pollinators. We wish to encourage as many people as possible to plant patches, big or small, of native pollinator-friendly vegetation. If we can grow enough patches, they will connect like stepping stones to create a pollinator pathway of nutrition and protection. Even the smallest patch can create a sense of satisfaction for your participation in this vital community project.
Register for one or both of the events: Lymepollinator@gmail.com. In the email let us know if you are registering for the 1) Hometown Habitat movie, 2) the Zimmerman presentation, or both. You will be sent a link a few days before the programs.
Lyme Pollinator Pathway (LPP) is an initiative of the Lyme SustainableCT Committee, which is appointed by the Lyme Board of Selectmen. Sponsors of the event are LPP, the Lyme Land Trust, the Lyme Garden Club, the Lyme Public Library (LPL), and the Friends of the LPL. The programs are funded by the Lyme Land Trust through a gift from the Pleasant Valley Association.
Lyme Pollinator Pathway Kick-off Part One! Hometown Habitat-Stories of Bringing Nature Home
Time: anytime
Place: Free online streaming
Contact Email: Lymepollinator@gmail.com
To Kick-off Lyme Pollinator Pathway and in honor of Earth Day 2021, you are invited to watch a free streaming of the inspiring movie Hometown Habitat – Stories of Bringing Nature Home, at your leisure. Participants can access and re-access the film throughout the three days from Friday, April 16 through Sunday, April 18. Through its profile of 7 hometown habitat heroes, this 90 minutes film shows how we can save our vital pollinators, such as bees, birds, and others. The narrative thread of this 8-part documentary is provided by renowned entomologist Douglas Tallamy, Ph.D. whose research, books, and lectures about increasing the use of native plants in landscaping, and other actions, provide solutions for habitat and species loss. Tallamy challenges the notion that humans are here and nature is someplace else.
For the official launch of Lyme Pollinator Pathway, we are offering a very special Earth Day program in two parts. A showing of the very Hometown Habitat movie and an in-person interview with the producer/director Catherine Zimmerman. For more about the Zimmerman Presentation.
Register for one or both of the events: LymePollinator@gmail.com. In the email let us know if you are registering for the 1) Hometime Habitat movie, 2) the Zimmerman presentation, or both. You will be sent a link a few days before the programs.
For more about the movie project
Lyme Pollinator Pathway was established February 4, 2021. As part of a national effort, Lyme Pollinator Pathway aims to help Lyme neighbors and friends create and connect pollinator-friendly habitats with food sources for bees, butterflies, birds and other pollinators.
Lyme Pollinator Pathway (LPP) is an initiative of the Lyme SustainableCT Committee, which is appointed by the Lyme Board of Selectmen. Sponsors of the event are LPP, the Lyme Land Trust, the Lyme Garden Club, and the Lyme Public Library (LPL), and the Friends of the LPL. The programs are funded by the Lyme Land Trust through a gift from the Pleasant Valley Association.
The Joy of Spring Forest Bathing Walk
Time: 2:00-4:00 pm
Place: Ravine Trail, Mitchell Hill Rd., Lyme CT
Contact Email: regan@awakentheforestwithin.com
Awaken your senses on a forest bathing walk along a cattail marsh, flowing stream, and mature forest as we gently ascend to an overlook. Invitations to engage with nature will be offered along the way.
The walk concludes with a wild-foraged tea.
$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 a supportive practice that invites us to slow down, open our senses, and engage with nature and ourselves as we take in the restorative health benefits of being in the forest. These benefits include lowered stress, blood pressure, and heart rate, increased creativity and focus, and a boost to our immune system. Leave calm and refreshed for the day ahead.
