The Tree Collective is a program designed to engage young conservationists ages 14-18 in outdoor fun and education while working to maintain trails in our beautiful town of Lyme, CT. It is sponsored by the Lyme Land Trust under the leadership of environmentalist/artist Regan Stacey since 2018. The group meets on one Sunday a month early fall through June. Each month there will be a different topic and hike in a selected preserve. You do not have to be a Lyme resident to join. 

• Explore the woods. Learn about nature and the importance of biodiversity
• Guest speakers/guides
• Field trips
• Get help with special reports/research projects.
• Trail work includes maintaining trails, blazing new trails, and other work to enhance the preserves. 
• Tools provided. 
• Year end party

If you would like to join the Tree Collective, please contact Regan Stacey at reganstacey@gmail.com.

The 2024-2025 Schedule. The group meets monthly on Sunday (except as noted) 1:00 to 3:30  at a different preserve. Check out upcoming events for more details.

View slide show of the Tree Collective collective season 2020-2021.
View slide show of the Tree Collective collective season 2019-2020.

• Cleared trees and branches from many of the Lyme trails.
• Tackled invasive plant species. Cleared the stone wall in Grassy Hill Preserve of invasive plants.
• Learned about wildlife, plants, and history. About one trip, Tree Collective Member Jane Sheiber, recounts “We learned about hibernation through the discovery of a family of shrews and several salamanders (including the marbled salamander) in an old tree stump. We also found artist’s conk mushrooms, among others, and worked on identifying trees in the winter, when the branches are bare. Finally, we learned about land-use history, wolf trees, and red cedars.”
• In 2019, donated a kids’ picnic table to the Fairy Circle in Hartman Park. And helped clear and restore several historic sites at Hartman Park.
• Took a trip to the Peabody Museum to learn more about our natural world.
• In August 2020, camped on Selden Island and cleared overgrown trails.
• Climbed Mt. Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains, NY in August 2021.
• Found all the bluebird boxes in Hartman Park in 2023.  
• Help create and clear Trail 54, a new trail at Mt Acher Woods/Eno Preserve that bypasses Mt Archer Road in the white trail loop, finished in 2024.

  Regan Stacey is a mother, artist, and environmentalist whose passion is to reconnect humans to nature.