News & Events

Upcoming Events

Earth Day - April 22, 2025

April 25 - 27, 2025

Northwest Conservation District Plant Sale

April 27, 2025

Barkhamsted 10th Annual Earth Day Nature Festival

Matthies Grove, East River Road, Barkhamsted

12:00 - 5:30 PM

Come get your Nature on! Nature exhibits, Birds of Prey show by Christine's Critters, Screech Owl box building for kids, bird banding demonstrations, Tree ID walk, music, free food and fun and more along the banks of the Wild and Scenic West Branch of the Farmington River.

June 7, 2025

CT Forest & Park Association Trails Day Hike

9:00 AM - Noon

Tunxis Trail, Pine Mountain & Indian Council Caves

Event Leaders Steve & Pam Emmons

Join North Woods Land Conservancy for an adventurous hike through the Pine Mountain area of Hartland and Barkhamsted. Our journey begins on Pine Mountain Road to the Tunxis Blue Blaze Trail. We will follow the trail to the summit of Pine Mountain and continue on to the Indian Council Caves picking up the lower section of Pine Mountain Road taking us back to Route 179. This hike of moderate difficulty is approximately 3.5 miles which should take between 2 and 3 hours. No pets, no rain date and cell service may be intermittent. Follow the link below for more information.

Learn more

June 16 - 22, 2025

National Pollinator Week

Pollinator Week is an annual celebration in support of pollinator health that was initiated and is managed by Pollinator Partnership. It is a time to raise awareness for pollinators and spread the word about what we can do to protect them. Click the logo below for more information.

June 21, 2025

New Hartford Presents “River Rocks”

12:00 - 8:00 PM

Come celebrate the Farmington River!

Live music, local food, fun activities & more on the banks of the Farmington River. Join the Town of New Hartford on June 21, 2025, 12-8pm, for River Rocks, a festival celebrating the Farmington River that is free to the public. Enjoy live music from Connecticut musicians and activities for all ages. Come taste the local flavors provided by businesses & organizations in our area!

Learn more

June 28, 2025 (raindate July 12, 2025)

Dragon Fly Walk with Jay Kaplan

10:00 AM - Noon

Join Jay Kaplan, Co-Director of Canton’s Roaring Brook Nature Center as we search for dragonflies and damselflies (the insect group known as the Odonata) in Peoples State Forest on Saturday, June 28th. We will meet at 10 AM in The Peoples State Forest Nature Museum (formerly the Stone Museum) parking lot off Greenwoods Road. Odonates are important indicators of a healthy environment, needing clean water in which to lay their eggs and develop, and healthy upland areas where the adults can hunt. Unlike butterflies, whose wings are easily damaged, the wings of dragonflies are “strong,” and they can be carefully handled if you are lucky enough to catch one. Learn about the Connecticut Odonate Database and the unusual species that have been reported from this area. Participants may wish to get their feet wet, although this is not mandatory. Wear appropriate clothing, (and footwear if you wish to get wet) to be outdoors in late summer. In case of inclement weather, there is a rain date scheduled for Saturday, July 12th.

September 6, 2025 (rain date Sept. 7, 2025)

“Hidden in Plain Sight” David Leff Trail Walk

with Joanne Groth 1:00 PM

The trail is located in the American Legion State Forest in Hartland at the end of School Street in Riverton. Joanne Groth from the Hartland Historical Society, will guide you on a leisurely walk on this ¼ mile trail and share tidbits of the history of the site along the way. Parking is limited at the trailhead, so please reserve for those with a handicap sticker. You will need to park in the lot for The Shops at Riverton and walk a short distance to the trailhead.

September 29, 2025 Annual Meeting 6:30 PM

Hartland School

Speaker Series 7:00 - 9:00 PM

Live Birds of Prey with Eileen Fielding

Various species of live hawks and owls will accompany Sharon Audubon Center Staff to demonstrate their beauty, power and connection with the natural world. Similarities and differences of these amazing birds of prey will be discussed and several props will also be on hand for viewing. Through this program, the audience will understand why raptors and their environment should continue to be protected and respected.

The Sharon Audubon Center is currently home to over 11 different species of birds of prey, including Red-tailed Hawks, Great Horned Owls, Eastern Screech Owls, American Kestrels, Turkey Vultures and more. All of the resident education birds are non-releasable birds of prey who are no longer able to survive in the wild due to some type of human interference such as gun shot wounds and being struck by cars. The birds are ambassadors of their species and travel with Sharon Audubon Staff to educate people about the importance of these predators.

The Sharon Audubon Center is located on Route 4 in Sharon, CT and is open to the public year round. Visitors can attend various nature education programs, view birds of prey in their large, outside aviaries, learn about the live resident reptiles, insects and other animals in the Nature Center, visit the Nature Store gift shop, or hike any of the 11 miles of trails. In the summer and early fall, visitors can take a tour of the Butterfly House and native plant gardens. The Center is also home to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Program, which admits close to 1000 injured and orphaned animals, focusing on birds, each year with the hope of releasing them back into the wild. More information about the Center and Sanctuary can be found on the website www.sharon.audubon.org or on Facebook.

November 10, 2025 Speaker Series

7:00 - 9:00 PM

Barkhamsted Senior Center

Foxes with Ginny Apple

Join Master Wildlife Conservationist Ginny Apple as she talks about Foxes. Connecticut is home to two species of fox: the brilliantly colored Red Fox with its white-tipped tail and black legs celebrated in literature from Reynard the Fox to Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss and the smaller, lesser-known Grey Fox which, believe it or not, can climb trees. These efficient omnivores play important roles in our ecosystem keeping the balance of nature in sync. Fox artifacts are shared with the audience.

A native Texan, Ginny Apple was one of the first full-time women sportswriters in the country, who left the field mid-career to pursue a path in communications/public relations.

Through the years she has hiked, climbed, kayaked, skied and poked her way through the outdoors and developed a passion for all things natural.

A move to the middle of the woods in Barkhamsted 20 years ago brought her into an environment filled with bears and other wildlife. Living in a house surrounded by Peoples State Forest, she observes a large population of Black Bears and supplies field notes and photographs on them to DEEP bear biologists. Her affinity for this magnificent creature led her out west to participate in a Grizzly research mission in Montana and to become a Master Wildlife Conservationist with the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Her focused expertise is on Bears, Bobcats, Bald Eagles, Beavers , Coyotes, Fisher, Moose, Wild Turkey, Owls and Things That Go Bump in the Night and numerous other wildlife species that call Connecticut home as well as volunteering on numerous wildlife projects, including helping with necropsies on road kill animals.

December 9, 2025

5:00 - 9:00 PM

Annual American Flatbread Pizza Fundraiser

Canton Shoppes

North Woods Land Conservancy will receive a portion of all pizza sales during this time frame. Please come and join us. Bring the family, enjoy some pizza and beverages and meet some of the Board of Directors.

Past Events

Twelfth Annual Fundraiser at American Flatbread Pizza Restaurant

North Woods Land Conservancy received a portion of all pizza sales during this time frame

totaling $283.50

Wildlife Biologist Brooks Pitman presents CT DEEP’s Furbearer Program on Beavers

Brooks’ Masters thesis was on beavers and we’re looking forward to hearing about these fascinating animals from an expert.

Monday November 18, 2024 at 7:00 PM

Hartland School 30 South Road, East Hartland

Thank you, Nicole Bernabo, for the awesome Outdoor Yoga Class Fundraiser. Thank you as well to all who attended. Keep your eyes open for the next class dates and times. We will post updates as soon as they are available. FYI - these are Gentle Flow Yoga classes and are beginner-friendly for anyone wanting to try it out for the first time.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2024 CT Trails Day Event at our Mill District Nature Preserve.

Observation Bench Installation

A new observation bench, built by Hank Prussing, was recently installed by the beaver pond on the Mill District Nature Preserve. Thanks to Hank Prussing, Fred Jones, and Tom Bull for hauling in, assembling, and testing it out.

Pollinator Garden Dedication

Thanks to all who attended and made this a special occasion.

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!