NOTE: This is an educational hike and is limited to 12 participants. Register early!

Guide: Victor DeMasi, monarch butterfly expert

Parking/Gathering Location: Meet at Junction of Route 7 and Simpaug Turnpike. Park across the street from the ball field.

Start Time: Hike will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. Arrive at least 10 minutes early.

Hike Duration: Approximately 1 hour

Hike Difficulty: Moderate

Why should you go? Diverse wildlife, robust butterfly habitat, ponds and wetlands

To register, go to: https://marktwainlibrary.org/events/redding-community-hiking-club-off-site/

Guide: Lee Walters.

Meet across the street from 32 Peaceable Street, Redding.
Some highlights: old stone walls, a wetland overlook and dappled sunlight.

FULL - register to join waitlist: Register by clicking here.

Join members of the Connolly family and Redding Land Trust as we dedicate the loop trail on Redding’s iconic Great Ledge in memory of Eugene Connolly (1931-2024). Gene was a longtime Redding Land Trust Trustee and, with Constance Pharr Brereton, led the campaign to purchase and protect these treasured 9 acres at the edge of Devil’s Den.

Please meet at 12:30pm for a 1:00 hike to the Great Ledge. There is a small gravel lot between 68 and 70 Dayton Road; more parking is available on the shoulder 500 feet down Dayton, by the intersection with Tudor Road.

NOTE: no dogs at this event, since the trails connect directly to The Nature Conservancy property. The hike will be roughly 1.3 miles round trip, and as always we recommend wearing shoes that can take some mud!

Join us to celebrate the seasons! Delve more deeply into nature, ecology and wildlife with a new bookclub focusing on science, conservation and natural history. Whether you’re an avid birder, a devoted gardener or an enthusiastic weekend hiker, you’ll expand your understanding of the world around us while also meeting folks who share a devotion to our planet!

The Nature Book Club is moderated by Marjorie Derven, Redding Land Trust Trustee, and John McLeran, Town Open Space Manager.

This bookclub will meet for four sessions on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm at New Pond Farm Education Center, 101 Marchant Road, Redding. Books will be available to borrow at the Library. Space is limited, so please register early!

Register online with Mark Twain Library: REGISTER NOW!

Read more and register here!

Click here to register.

LOCATION: New Pond Farm Education Center

Co-Sponsored by New Pond Farm Education Center and Redding Land Trust

Delve more deeply into nature, ecology and wildlife with a new bookclub focusing on science, conservation and natural history! Whether you’re an avid birder, a devoted gardener or an enthusiastic weekend hiker, you’ll expand your understanding of the world around us while also meeting folks who share a devotion to our planet!

The Nature Book Club is moderated by Cole Tucker-Walton, a Redding Land Trust board member and author of Redding’s Big Outdoors column in the Redding Sentinel, and John McLeran, a member of the Redding Land Trust and Town of Redding’s Open Space Manager.

Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper (2023)

A self-described “Blerd” (Black nerd), Christian Cooper is an avid comics fan and expert birder who devotes every spring to gazing upon the migratory birds that stop to rest in Central Park, just a subway ride away from where he lives in New York City. While in the park one morning in May 2020, Cooper had an encounter with a dog walker, which exploded age-old racial tensions. Cooper’s viral video of the incident would send shock waves through the nation.

In his bestselling memoir, Cooper tells the story of his extraordinary life leading up to the now-infamous incident in Central Park and shows how a life spent looking up at the birds prepared him, in the most uncanny of ways, to be a gay, Black man in America today.

Previous Selections:

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2015)

Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille T. Dungy (2023)

Click here to register.

This program is co-sponsored by Little Meadow Farm of Redding and Redding Land Trust 

What did our planet look like before industrial farms, crowded cities and pollution-emitting factories? How can we reverse the damage to our atmosphere, wildlife populations and health?

Whitney Freeman discusses the principles of Regenerative Farming, a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food production. Whitney, owner of Henny Penny Farm in Ridgefield, will discuss ecological methods to grow food and raise livestock, and how this method can be used as medicine for our planet and our bodies.

Whitney will talk about the integral role that livestock can play in healing soils, which aids in bringing back wildlife to our habitats — and how all of this is tied to producing better food. Learn about Regenerative Farming to find out how to eat better and make better food choices.

This is a hybrid program that will take place both live at the Library, and virtually over Zoom.

Join us the SUNDAY before Earth Day for an inaugural group hike on Robin’s Trail. Blazed just over a year ago, and named for longtime Trail Tender Robin Varian, Robin’s Trail begins in a small shrub swamp and proceeds through the Cram Preserve to the Town-owned Samuel E. Hill Little River Preserve.

Robin’s Trail is located on Newtown Tpke between 349 and 343, directly opposite Long Meadow Lane.

Please join us to enjoy refreshments, get caught up on our recent work, and meet our new and standing board members. A brief open meeting will be followed by a reception with drinks and passed appetizers.

Space is limited, so register for free today! Click here for registration.

Highstead, a regional conservation and research nonprofit, is located at 127 Lonetown Road, Redding, CT 06896. 

Join us on New Year’s Day for a hike through Mary Anne Guitar Preserve and the newly acquired Barbara and Anthony Delia Preserve, properties resplendent with streams, hemlocks, mountain laurels, maples, hickories, sycamores, and junipers.

Wear shoes that can handle some mud, and prepare for up and down terrain! Dogs on leash are welcome.

Gravel parking and trailhead just past 12 Old Mailcoach Rd, Redding.

Join us as we return to Arthur F. Brinckerhoff Preserve to see what the fall foliage has revealed! Our hike begins at 10 am and includes Ensor’s Trace and Ross Ramble, about 2.3 miles total.

Parking: For this one occasion, Farview Farm has granted visitors access to the Farview Farm clubhouse parking lot. At all other times, Farview Farm Road, its grounds, and its facilities, including the grass verge, are private property, and violators may be towed.

Saturday, October 14, join us at The Mahony Gifts for a group hike at 10am. (Trailhead at 34 Ledgeway Road.) This is a pleasant mile-long loop with some steep sections, and we recommend shoes that can take a little mud. Those who want to can follow us across Sport Hill Road to the mile and a half Sanford Trail loop at Ground Pine Sanctuary. At 10, we'll be dedicating the trail to the late Henry “Buzz” Merritt, longtime RLT Trustee, and admiring two new benches given in his honor. After the hike, join Jane Hamilton Merritt and Schuyler Merritt for refreshments at Redding Grange No. 15, 399 Newtown Tpke.

Click here to learn about the event and buy tickets or become a sponsor.

Please join us for our 2023 Annual Meeting at the Community Center. If you cannot attend, a Zoom link will be provided prior to the meeting.

Join us at DNKL for an evening of great food, lively music and a celebration of our open space.

Join the Redding Land Trust for a socially-distanced hike exploring the McCormack Preserve. Meet at lot at corner of Picketts Ridge and George Hull Hill Road. 10 am. Heavy rain postpones to Sunday, April 25 @ 10 a.m.

Join the Redding Land Trust for our holiday season hikes. All hikes are family friendly. Because we are walking on Aquarion land, dogs are not allowed. Sorry! Please RSVP to info@ReddingCTLandtrust.org.

New Year’s Day Hike

Wednesday, January 1st, noon. Start 2020 on the right foot! Explore the Ravine Trail through Devil’s Den. Park on Deer Hill Road.

Please note that nasty weather will likely cancel any of these hikes. We will notify this email list the morning of if we decide it's safest to cancel that day's hike.

Boxing Day Hike

Join the Redding Land Trust for our holiday season hikes. All hikes are family friendly. Leashed and well-controlled dogs are welcome. Please RSVP to info@ReddingCTLandtrust.org.

Thursday, December 26th, noon - meet at the Putnam Park visitors center lot. We will hike through the Joan Plishner Wildlife Preserve, a well kept Redding Secret.

Please note that nasty weather will likely cancel any of these hikes. We will notify our email list the morning of if we decide it's safest to cancel that day's hike. RSVP to Info@reddingctlandtrust.org. to be included in our email.

Friday, November 29th, 1 p.m. – Burn off some of those holiday calories. Meet at John Read Middle School. We will hike from Dan Beard to Reeve Biggers Trail to Turkington Falls Natural Area.

This is a family-friendly hike. Well controlled dogs on leashes are welcome.

Please RSVP to info@ReddingCTLandtrust.org. to receive updates. Nasty weather will cancel.

Two weeks before the Frog Frolic, the library will host its 2nd Annual Family Frog Walk at Redding’s Topstone Park (rain or shine). Participants will look for and learn about Redding’s local plants and animals while strolling around the Topstone Pond beach area with three knowledgeable nature guides: John McLeran, Redding Open Space Manager, environmental educator and dragonfly expert; Susan Robinson, a naturalist with the Redding Conservation Commission and the Connecticut Botanical Society; and Bill Hill, owner of Warrups Farm and Redding Conservation Commission board member. Participants are also invited to join a guide from the Redding Land Trust for a fun walk around the pond after the program ends. 

To preserve the natural habitat, participants are asked not to collect or remove any specimens from the park. Please note that no bathrooms will be available during the program.

Co-sponsored by: Redding Department of Parks and Recreation 
Co-collaborators: The Redding Conservation Commission, The Redding Land Trust, and the Connecticut Botanical Society

Register for the event on the Mark Twain Library website:

https://marktwainlibrary.org/events/2nd-annual-family-frog-walk-at-topstone-park-all-ages/

In keeping with the Holiday Hike theme, the next hike will take place on Presidents’ Day at 1 pm. We will meet at the John Read Middle School parking lot and aim for a 2.5-3 mile hike. 

If there’s snow on the ground, please bring snow shoes, wear yak tracks or other footwear that will protect your feet and keep you from slipping. Poles are also recommended. Due to the growing number of hikers on our hiking series, we ask that dogs be kept on a short leash for the duration of these hikes. Active snow or rain or bitter temperatures cancel.

Subscribe to the Redding Land Trust newsletter for details on upcoming events.