Hikes, Paddles, & Wellness
At the Westerly Land Trust, we love to guide outdoor experiences for our community.
Thursday Hikes/Paddles:
Hikes May & June 2025
Paddles Summer 2025
Each Thursday, we have either a guided hike (fall, winter, and spring) or a guided paddle (summer). Thursday hikes and paddles are FREE for all and begin at 10am, unless otherwise stated. For these events, you will visit various local conservation properties, including some of our Westerly Land Trust preserves. Walks are between 1 ½ to 3 hours and are open to all ages with the target group being agile seniors.
Event Hikes
Event hikes are generally centered around a theme and include seasonal refreshments. These hikes are FREE for WLT members and $10 for not-yet members. Some of the more elaborate hikes are $5 for WLT members and $15 for not-yet members.
We hope you will join us for these outdoor adventures! They are great opportunities to meet new people and spend quality time outside.
Wellness in the Woods
The benefits of nature for mental and physical health are innumerable. Here at the Westerly Land trust, we are grateful to play a role in connecting our community to the great outdoors for the holistic benefit of body, mind and soul. Wellness in the Woods is a series of outdoor events that was brought on by the pandemic and the increased interest in health and use of outdoor spaces. We are now entering our third year and our wellness programs are continuing to grow. All events are run in conjunction with highly trained and certified individuals/partners such as BarreCoast, Dr. Dierdre O’Connor, Westerly Track and Athletic Club, certified local yoga teachers, and certified mindful outdoor guides. We hope you will join us as we tap into the many benefits that nature has to offer.
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June 15th is Nature Photography Day—a time to celebrate nature through photography and highlight its role in conservation.
! Have you taken any pictures on WLT properties??
‼️Enter the Westerly Land Trust Photo Contest ‼️
We want to see WLT land through your eyes (and lens)! Snap shots of trails, plants, animals and landscapes, and send them to Erika at [email protected] by October 6th for a chance to be featured in our 2026 WLT calendar! 🌳🌸
#rhodeisland #westerlyri #Nature #NaturePhotography #NatureLovers #NatureGram #EarthFocus #OurPlanetDaily #MotherNature #WildernessCulture
Our friends at Tractor Supply in Pawcatuck went above and beyond, donating loads of garden supplies, including seeds and seedlings, for our upcoming summer sessions of Farm Squad! 🥗
In just a few weeks we’ll kick off this program at Barlow Nature Preserve. Here, Westerly’s K-4th graders will learn through first-hand experience how seeds grow into vegetables, along with lots of other lessons of farm life.
Thank you, @tractorsupply , for supporting local environmental and agricultural education! 🚜
#community #donation #gardening #childrensgarden #summer #nature #grow #vegetables
Barlow’s Farm Stand Opening Saturday, June 14!!
🥗Visit the farm stand at Barlow Nature Preserve (449 Westerly-Bradford Rd) for opening day on Saturday, June 14 from 12pm-4pm. The farm stand is operated by the two farms on the property: Frontier Farm and Echo Rock Flowers. Through out the summer, they’ll also have on hand Ever-Breeze Farm’s eggs and WesterBee’s honey. Their regular summer schedule will begin on Thursday, June 19:
Shoppable Hours:
Thursdays, 3-6pm
Fridays, 3-6pm
New in 2025: Saturdays, 12-4pm
#farmstand #farm #organicfarmers #organicfarming #organic #vegetables
📚The Little Free Library at Barlow Nature Preserve is now open! Local woodworker David Osborne, one of WLT’s many talented volunteers, hand-crafted a one-of-a-kind mini library and installed it in front of the Barlow Farm Stand, facing the Education Cottage. Come take a seat on the bench and peruse the books—take one or leave one—that’s what they are here for!
🥗And don’t miss the seed exchange drawer on the back.
Thank you, David, and thanks to all those who donated books and seeds! 💚📖
#library #littlefreelibrary #bookexchange #naturebooks #nature #reading #mindful
That’s a wrap on the 2025 Spring Semester at the Westerly Land Trust!
This was our FIFTH spring semester of Living Laboratories, our afterschool program for WPS K-4 students, plus we added some new programs to engage even more of our community’s youth: WLT visited Trinity Lutheran pre-k, and this was our first spring semester partnering with local homeschool families. We topped it all off with a busy field trip season, welcoming students from all three local elementary schools and Richmond Elementary School to Barlow Nature Preserve, each school bringing between 50 and 80 kids! Plus, we hosted our first field trip at Riverwood Preserve, where we had a great time with St. Michael School’s middle schoolers.
Next, we are flying right into our summer program Farm Squad in which students will learn first hand where our food comes from, how to grow vegetables from seeds, how to compost (and why), and the importance of pollinators in food production!
#westerlyri #landtrust #youtheducation #environmentaleducation #explore #nature #getoutside #wildlife #watersheds #gardening #pollinators #planting #fieldtrip #homeschool
Our summer interns are here and they have hit the ground running, settling nicely into their new roles. WLT would like to thank the Southeastern New England Educational and Charitable Foundation (SNEC) for supporting the Conservation Programs and Sustainable Farming internships in 2025.
Quincy Rome 🐝🌿🍄
Conservation Programs
Quincy is a Rhode Island native who just completed his freshman year at Appalachian State University where he’s studying environmental science. A former youth baseball coach, he’s well versed in encouraging growth in young kids, so we’re excited to have him helping out with our summer youth programs.
Ella Anderson 👩🌾🥕🌱
Sustainable Farming
Ella is a UCONN Husky with a special interest in natural resources and sustainability. She has worked on a Christmas tree farm since 2013–not just around the holidays, but over the summers, too! It’s a safe bet that her agricultural skills will be put to good use with @frontierfarmri and @echo_rock_flowers .
Will Wholean 🪚🌳🐿️
Land Stewardship
You may remember this familiar face! Will was our Conservation Programs intern last summer, and he’s back for a second year to focus on land stewardship. Will is pursuing a degree in biology from Clark University, where, we are proud to report, he’s on the Dean’s List!
Welcome back, Will!
☀️Amidst the hustle and bustle of the upcoming summer, it can be easy to forget self-care. At the Westerly Land Trust, we want to help you make it a priority. Time in nature has proven mental and physical benefits, so here are some healthy summer suggestions: For every late-night clam bake, schedule in one walk in the woods. Be sure you’re fueling your body with nutrious, locally grown foods. Sign up for any of the hikes, paddles, and yoga sessions we have scheduled for June.
🌳If you’re a part of the WLT community, chances are you’re taking care of nature.
Make time this summer to let nature return the favor.
🥾Thursday Hike/ End of Season Get Together
June 12, 10-11:30am
Wahaneeta Preserve
Join the Thursday Hiking Group for their final hike of the season before they transition to paddles!
🐝Beehive Check- Caring for your colony
Rescheduled for Sat, June 14, 10-11:30AM
Barlow Nature Preserve
Dive into the art of hive inspection with this practical, hands-on workshop designed for beekeepers of all experience levels.
🧘♀️Outdoor Summer Solstice Yoga
Friday, June 20, 6-7pm
Winnapaug Farm Preserve
Come celebrate the summer solstice with a special outdoor yoga class led by Krystal Rose from @barre_coast . Westerly Land Trust members, contact Erika Lebling for reduced price registration of $10.
✨Forest Bathing
Saturday, June 21, 8:30-11am
Wahaneeta Preserve
Forest Bathing is the pleasant practice of spending time in nature to enhance health and happiness. Evidence-based research confirms that time in nature has profound healing benefits for physical and emotional wellbeing.
🌸Summer Solstice Flower Crown Workshop
hosted by Echo Rock Flowers
Saturday, June 21, 3-4:30pm
Barlow Nature Preserve
Surrounded by the peace and serenity of the budding flower field, you’ll learn how to craft your own stunning flower crown with expert guidance. @echo_rock_flowers is generously donating 10% of all workshop proceeds to support WLT’s work.
#summer #spring #sun #sunshine #outside #nature #trees #woods #animals #yoga #community #friends #westerlyri #rhodeisland #connecticut
Thank you to our friends at Westerly Library and Wilcox Park for donating a whole host of perennial plants to WLT following their Garden Market Sale. Our CCC volunteers went straight to work, giving these plants a new home surrounding the Barlow Nature Preserve Education Cottage. 🪻🌿
❗️Also, coming soon to Barlow: One of our talented volunteers is building a “Little Free Library”. 📚Do you have any field guides or children’s nature books that you’d like to donate? There will also be a compartment for seed exchange, so if you have any extra seeds, we’ll happily take them, too! Please bring your donations to our office at 449 Westerly Bradford Road. Thank you!
#westerlyri #wilcoxpark #garden #landscape #plants #summer #volunteer #landtrust #rhodeisland #nature #conservation #education
