Nature's Classroom #1

A crucial role of the  Chester Land Trust’s mission is to protect the unique irreplaceable land and water environments that we have in our community. This also means that all of us need to respect and care for the wildlife, plants and natural habitat that we share. By providing information on these topics, we all become better stewards of our natural resources. The Land Trust  is offering the following information and links to everyone to help all of us  better understand our diverse ecology and protect our community for present and future generations.

Tree Signs at Motley Preserve

14 different tree identification signs have been posted on the Little Rock Nine hiking trail at the Constance Baker Motley Preserve (100 Cedar Lake Rd.). The new signs provide detailed information about each tree, including the importance of the tree in the environment, the value of the wood in the industry, and other common names and important details for each one of the named tree species.

"Tree-of-Heaven" invades Scudder Preserve

Click the image below to learn more about this non-native species.

Bring back the birds!

To know more about how to bring birds back, click the image below.

Chester Land Trust resumes Japanese Knotweed mitigation program at Carini Preserve

Chester Land Trust (CLT) initiated a Japanese Knotweed (JK) mitigation program at the Carini Preserve in the fall of 2022 and plans to begin planting native grasses and shrubs in selected areas where JK was cut and cleared this winter. Plantings should begin sometime in April 2023. 

The Carini Preserve (entrance at 30 Water Street) is a beautiful 6.5 acre CLT property that lies at the confluence of Great Brook and Pattaconk Brook where they run into Chester Creek. Unfortunately, a serious invasion of JK is present all along the banks of Great Brook and Chester Creek, overtaking native vegetation throughout the property and threatening the structural integrity of the gazebo at the Preserve.

Take a stroll through Carini Preserve (which is easy to access and open to the public). If you visit early in April, you will see numerous reddish JK sprouts emerging. These sprouts will grow 3-5 inches a day later in April. If left uncut, they’ll probably be 3-4 feet high by Earth Day (April 22, 2023)).  Be aware that JK is a highly invasive non-native herbaceous perennial that is notoriously difficult to get rid of. 

Recognizing this difficulty, CLT intends to utilize several JK control methods at Carini Preserve over the course of 3-5 years. During your visit, take a look at the education poster that CLT created and mounted on the back of the sign at the Preserve entrance. It shows what JK looks like in various stages of development and briefly describes methods to control it. 

If you are interested in participating in CLT’s JK mitigation program, contact the Steward of the Carini Preserve at mdcressman@hotmail.com. We are grateful to all of our CLT donors, members and to the Town of Chester, the Community Foundation of Middlesex County and the Rockfall Foundation for providing funds to support this critically important project.​

Photos by Bill Myers

THE CHESTER LAND TRUST

​Chester, Connecticut

info@chesterlandtrust.org