News & Events

A portion of the Beach Preserve Trail has been cleared and reopened to the public!

Please go to Properties Section - Charles & Lois Beach Nature Preserve, for revised trail map. The remainder of the preserve continues to be closed to the public until further notice, due to hazardous ash tree conditions on the property near the trails.

***Check out the Photo Contest Section for 2024 Submission Requirements and Entry Form***

2023 Winner Announcements and a collage of amazing entries!

Upcoming events

Saturday June 1, 2024

Hartland Land Trust presents its third new trail in as many years on its beautiful Mill District Nature Preserve in West Hartland! Join us to experience the best of what our Hartland woods can offer: mixed hardwood and coniferous trees, stands of mountain laurel, fern glens, hillsides peppered with boulders, a beaver pond and several pristine streams. The Mill District Nature Preserve lies on the divide between the watersheds of the East and West branches of the Farmington River, a Federally dual-designated Wild and Scenic river. Also evident in these woods are stone walls that remind us of Hartland’s past as an active farming community. Terrain is uneven and there may be wet areas so please wear sturdy shoes/boots and consider bringing trekking poles.Join us on the Mill District Nature Preserve, for a guided hike that includes our newest Orange Loop Trail. Registration starts May 8th

National Pollinator Week June 17 - 23

Refrain from chemical pesticide use. Plant native plants to flower Spring through Fall.

Learn more

East Hartland Fire Department Carnival July 17 - 20, 2024

Come visit the Hartland Land Trust table on Wednesday July 17th & Thursday July 18th. Hope to see you there!

HLT Annual Meeting & Speaker Series

September 23, 2024

“Connecticut Turtles”

Annual Meeting 7:00

Speaker Series 7:30 Featured speaker Jay Kaplan

Hartland School

November 18, 2024 7:00

Speaker Series: Brooks Pitman, Wildlife Biologist DEEP

“Beavers”

Hartland School

Twelfth Annual HLT Fundraiser at Flatbread Pizza

December 10, 2024

Canton Shoppes

Past Events

The Hartland Land Trust had a wonderful time at the 9th Annual FALPS Earth Day event at Peoples State Forest.

Pollinator Garden Work Day at Hartland School

Thanks to our volunteers for their hard work in extending the current garden and preparing it for additional plantings; Amanda Lukingbeal, Luke Swiniarski, Susan Pearson, Tom LeClerc, Tom Kean and Fred Jones.

Hartland Land Trust would like to thank all who attended our bird walk on Sunday April 21st. Albeit a very chilly start to the day, fun was had by all. As we know, there is always more than birds to discover in the forest.

Hartland Land Trust thanks all who attended the Invasive Managment workshop! Peter Picone was a fantastic and charismatic speaker with a wealth of knowledge and experience about invasive plants shrubs and trees.

Min Huang is a wildlife biologist for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and heads the Migratory Bird Program for the State. Min received a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Conservation and a Bachelor of Art in English from the University of Connecticut and received his Master of Science in Wildlife Management from Frostburg State University. He received his Ph. D from the University of Connecticut, researching sub-population structure and survival of resident Canada geese. He has worked as a wildlife biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission where he managed a wildlife management area, working primarily with deer and various endangered species such as the Florida grasshopper sparrow, red-cockaded woodpecker, Florida scrub jay, and whooping crane. He also spent 5 years working for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as a District Biologist, where he primarily worked with ungulates and endangered species such as the spotted owl and marbled murrelet. Current projects he is involved with include migration and survival of North Atlantic Population Canada geese, nesting success of mallards in an exurban landscape, American kestrel survival, dispersal and migratory stopover habitat use, American bittern habitat use and migratory patterns, eastern whippoorwill status and use of managed forestry cuts, and multi-stock harvest management of waterfowl.

Ladybeetle Release

Fred Jones and Susan Pearson, Co-Presidents of Hartland Land Trust, had the pleasure of participating in the predator ladybeetle release at the MDNP with Dr. Cheah yesterday afternoon. We checked 3 areas -- the area by the kiosk, the area for the future bench at the beaver pond and the "finger" farther downhill on route 20, near the road. The latter two areas were deemed by Carole to have too few live adelgids to warrant a beetle release but Fred and I got to hang some 50 ladybeetles at the kiosk. In the photo below you can see the difference between live (still with a puffy woolly covering) and dead (smaller, dried-out-looking) adelgids. Carole says the beetles get right to work and said they were mad and hungry from being cooped up in their containers.

CT Trails Day

Our Trails Day hike was a great success. Trail leader Steve Emmons, brought hikers, including Laurie Guptill (photo) on a nice leisurely stroll, taking in all the sites, including loads of teeny newts on the move, as well as enduring some silly pranks along the way.

Bird Walk with Fran Zygmont

The event was guided by Fran Zygmont, whose extensive knowledge of birds guaranteed our enjoyment and education. He is a bird call imitator & “talked” to the birds as we strolled through the forest on the Mill District Nature Preserve Trail. We heard and spotted many birds and learned new and interesting facts about our feathered friends. As with any walk in the woods, there were plenty of other flora and fauna to enjoy.

Congratulations to Hartland School’s Salmon-in-Schools program on the receipt of a $2,300 grant from the Lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook Wild and Scenic Committee! HLT has been happy to partner with the school for ten years in this exciting program and in 2022 to help the school apply for these funds. The grant will bring water biologists from the Farmington River Watershed Association into the school and along on the sixth grade Salmon Release Day field trip as well as purchasing important equipment for the program. This year’s batch of salmon fry are already happy in their foster home in the tank in middle school science teacher Deb Costolnick’s classroom. Good luck to the fish and the students for lots of growing and learning and a successful release into Salmon Brook in early May!

Thank you to all who came out to support us at this event. We received a total of $398.00.

CT Trails Day June 4, 2022

Edith Leopold — Hartland’s Connection to Aldo Leopold

Edith and Her Mother Walking in the Woods

Edith and Her Sister Margaret ("Marm")-1990's

"Freddie and Cleo" Barn Mural-Hank Prussing, 1986

Audubon’s Edith Leopold Wildlife Sanctuary

Diana Evans (Hartland Lions Club), Susan Pearson (Hartland Land Trust) and Joanne Groth (Hartland Historical Society) are busy packing and delivering Welcome Bags to our newer Hartland residents. These three Hartland non-profit organizations would like to also acknowledge the support of the Hartland Public Library which supplied the bags as well as town employees Magi, Jen and Trish. We hope all our new residents love our beautiful town!