The Westerly Land Trust

Lucky Leprechaun Hike
2023-03-17 16:30 - 18:30 (America/New_York) | Riverwood Preserve, 5 Boy Scout Drive, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by hitting the beautiful trails of Riverwood Preserve.

It’s time to say goodbye to winter and welcome the spring and the many shades of green it brings with it. Wear your favorite green shirt and enjoy some themed beverages and snacks. Hike will be lead by the wonderful Donna Anderson.
This event is FREE for members, and $10 per person for non-members. Not a member and would like to be? Click here!
Registration required, spots are limited.
Parking: Participants will park on Old Hopkinton Rd and walk together down Boy Scout Dr. to Riverwood Preserve together.
Length of hike is ~ 3.4 miles including walk in from parking.

Nifty Navigators: Springbrook (Grades 3-4)
2023-03-16 15:45 - 17:15 | Barlow Nature Preserve, 449 Westerly Bradford Road, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
Living Laboratories for Springbrook Elementary School Grades 3-4

Knowing where you are going is the first step. Getting to your destination is next. Navigation skills are important for finding your way around and keeping yourself safe. Learn how to use a compass and navigate your way to treasure with WLT educators.
Program is FREE thanks to a partnership with WPS.
Bus transportation available to and from program.

Thursday Hike: Haley Farm State Park, Groton, CT
2023-03-16 10:00 - 12:00 | RI
This will be a hike of about 3 to 4 miles. We will meet @ 24 Haley Farm Lane. For more information go to https://www.alltrails.com/parks/us/connecticut/haley-farm-state-park
To sign up, contact hike leader: Tom Godbout, 401-871-2452 and email: trga678@outlook.com.
Thursday hikes are FREE. Be sure to wear hiking boots or good walking shoes. If the weather is icy you should bring stabilizers or something for traction. If a lot of snow bring snowshoes. Hikes leave promptly.
PLEASE NOTE:

Ending times are estimated as it difficult to ascertain when it will finish due to number of people, how fast/slow the hikers walk, etc.
Please sign up with leader so that person will know how many are coming. If no one signs up the leader may not show up.
Inclement weather cancels and if in doubt, contact leader.
If you wish to bring a dog please contact the leader as some properties do not allow them. However, if a dog is present, they must be leashed at all times.

Nifty Navigators: Springbrook (Grades K-2)
2023-03-15 15:45 - 17:15 | Barlow Nature Preserve, 449 Westerly Bradford Road, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
Living Laboratories for Springbrook Elementary School Grades K-2

Knowing where you are going is the first step. Getting to your destination is next. Navigation skills are important for finding your way around and keeping yourself safe. Learn how to use a compass and navigate your way to treasure with WLT educators.
Program is FREE thanks to a partnership with WPS.
Bus transportation available to and from program.

Voices of the Land: Southern RI Bobcat Study
2023-03-09 17:30 - 19:00 | Barlow Nature Preserve, 449 Westerly Bradford Road, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
Join us for an active discussion on bobcats in southern Rhode Island.

In this presentation Amy Mayer will share the results from the 2015-2020 URI bobcat study that was conducted in collaboration with RIDEM Division of Fish and Wildlife. In the study several bobcats were tracked using GPS collars to learn about resource use by the species in southern Rhode Island. Amy’s team conducted a large-scale trail camera survey that is continuing to provide data not only on bobcats but a number of RI’s mammal species. Amy will share photos captured, maps, and stories from the field with good conversation and of course, refreshments!
This event is located at Barlow Nature Preserve. Parking is available in the main parking lot, with overflow parking in the field behind the outbuildings to the east (up the farm road). Registration is required.
Discussion is open to WLT members. Our members donate annually. Not a member and would like to be? Sign up HERE.
To learn more about Amy and her work click HERE.

Thursday Hike: Carolina North, Richmond
2023-03-09 10:00 - 13:00 | RI
Well-traveled, all-weather gravel tracks and footpaths, hills and valleys, a stream, a pond, and a deciduous and evergreen forest. Directions: Pine Hill Road, 1.7 miles west of Rt 112, or 0.6 miles east of Switch Road. Park at the DEM station, a red structure on the south side of the road. N 41º 27.979’ W 71º 41.293’
To sign up, contact hike co- leaders: Sally Hanson, (h)401-348-9109 , (c) 401-932-5295. Email: sallyhanson242@gmail.com. Deidre O’Connor, (860) 287-7281. Email: deirdreo@snet.net.
Thursday hikes are FREE. Be sure to wear hiking boots or good walking shoes. If the weather is icy you should bring stabilizers or something for traction. If a lot of snow bring snowshoes. Hikes leave promptly.
PLEASE NOTE:

Ending times are estimated as it difficult to ascertain when it will finish due to number of people, how fast/slow the hikers walk, etc.
Please sign up with leader so that person will know how many are coming. If no one signs up the leader may not show up.
Inclement weather cancels and if in doubt, contact leader.
If you wish to bring a dog please contact the leader as some properties do not allow them. However, if a dog is present, they must be leashed at all times.

Thursday Hikes: Grills Preserve, Bradford
2023-03-02 10:00 - 12:30 | Grills Preserve, 198 Bowling Lane, Westerly, RI, 02808, United States
This walk on WLT’s 500-acre preserve is over primarily flat terrain often along the Pawcatuck River on clear, wide trails. We will be able to see some newly discovered foundations. There is a gorgeous scenic view from the top of aptly named, Big Hill, which requires a bit of steep climbing. Meet at the parking lot at the cul-de-sac end off Bowling Lane in Bradford Village.
To sign up, contact hike leader: David Prigmore, (401)348-2855. Email: d.bprigmore@gmail.com
Thursday hikes are FREE. Be sure to wear hiking boots or good walking shoes. If the weather is icy you should bring stabilizers or something for traction. If a lot of snow bring snowshoes. Hikes leave promptly.
PLEASE NOTE:

Ending times are estimated as it difficult to ascertain when it will finish due to number of people, how fast/slow the hikers walk, etc.
Please sign up with leader so that person will know how many are coming. If no one signs up the leader may not show up.
Inclement weather cancels and if in doubt, contact leader.
If you wish to bring a dog please contact the leader as some properties do not allow them. However, if a dog is present, they must be leashed at all times.

Voices of the Land: Invasive species in Rhode Island forests
2023-02-23 17:30 - 19:00 | Barlow Nature Preserve, 449 Westerly Bradford Road, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
Join us for an active discussion on invasive species in RI. Dr. Lisa Tewksbury will provide an update from the URI Biocontrol Lab.

Lisa Tewksbury will discuss the URI biocontrol lab’s surveys for invasive species and implementation of biological control using natural enemies, when available. Projects on Westerly Land Trust properties have included a survey of the southern pine beetle, a southern pest that has migrated north, and a forest pest survey for exotic species. These projects are in collaboration with RIDEM and the USDA. Refreshments included!
This event is located at Barlow Nature Preserve. Parking is available in the main parking lot, with overflow parking in the field behind the outbuildings to the east (up the farm road). Registration is required.
Discussion is open to WLT members. Not a member and would like to be? Sign up HERE.

Thursday Hike: Bradford Preserve, Bradford
2023-02-23 10:00 - 12:00 | RI
A hidden treasure along Rt 91 in Bradford. The trail is in fact a cross country trail for the Westerly High School but open to the public when not in use by them. The trail is blazed orange but be sure to keep an eye for them at turns and intersections. To access the trailhead from the parking area you must cross the large grass field to the right. You will find the trailhead at the back end of the field. A short entrance trail will be the first part of the hike. Turn left at the intersection to do the orange blazed loop. The trail climbs slowly and steadily uphill for a bit passing stonewalls, a vernal pool and a fern covered forest first heading northerly before turning to the south. Ahead a trail to the left will lead you into the Woody Hill Management Area. We will go into Woody Hill Management Area then return to continue straight to follow the blazes. When you reach the southern end of the loop you will come upon a large open field filled with tall grass and wildflowers. A path to the left will lead you back into the woods. Turn right here and follow the path along the edge of the woods keeping the field to your left. Take your time here and enjoy the sights. Soon the field path enters back into the woods and the trail starts it long descent downhill. Keep an eye out for a spur trail to the left. This trail leads you to a monument in the woods built in 1886 in honor of the Vars family who first came to the colonies in 1680. After stopping by the monument continue along the orange blazed trail, still descending to the entrance trail. Here you will want to turn left and cross the field once again to the parking area. Directions from Westerly: Take Rt 91 heading toward Bradford.
To sign up, contact hike leader: Sally Hanson, (401) 348-9109 (h), (401) 932-5295 (c), and email: sallyhanson242@gmail.com
Thursday hikes are FREE. Be sure to wear hiking boots or good walking shoes. If the weather is icy you should bring stabilizers or something for traction. If a lot of snow bring snowshoes. Hikes leave promptly.
PLEASE NOTE:

Ending times are estimated as it difficult to ascertain when it will finish due to number of people, how fast/slow the hikers walk, etc.
Please sign up with leader so that person will know how many are coming. If no one signs up the leader may not show up.
Inclement weather cancels and if in doubt, contact leader.
If you wish to bring a dog please contact the leader as some properties do not allow them. However, if a dog is present, they must be leashed at all times.

FLUORESCENT ORANGE REQUIREMENTS:
In State Management areas everyone is required to wear 200 square inches of solid daylight fluorescent orange from the second Saturday in September to the last day of February and the last Thursday in April to the last day in May, annually.

Birds Over Break
2023-02-21 10:00 - 11:30 | Barlow Nature Preserve, 449 Westerly Bradford Road, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
Spend a day during Westerly Public School’s February break discovering the life of a bird with WLT educators.

Soar into a bird’s life and explore why their beaks are so important, especially when it comes to finding food during the winter.
This event is FREE and open to youth.
Parent/ guardian is required to accompany their student at the event. This is a great opportunity to adventure together!

Thursday Hike: Riverwood Preserve, Westerly
2023-02-16 10:00 - 12:00 | Riverwood Preserve, 5 Boy Scout Drive, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
This walk will be about 3 miles. The start and finish are on very flat and easy terrain, but in the middle of the hike, there will be rocky ascents and descents in order to see the best views in the preserve. Highlights include scenic viewpoints, gorges, and viewpoints along the Pawcatuck River. Meet and park on Old Hopkinton Road at the end of Boy Scout Drive. We will walk into the preserve from there.
To sign up, contact hike leader: Jeff Walker, 401-447-1879 and email: Jeffrey.walker@cox.net
Thursday hikes are FREE. Be sure to wear hiking boots or good walking shoes. If the weather is icy you should bring stabilizers or something for traction. If a lot of snow bring snowshoes. Hikes leave promptly.
PLEASE NOTE:

Ending times are estimated as it difficult to ascertain when it will finish due to number of people, how fast/slow the hikers walk, etc.
Please sign up with leader so that person will know how many are coming. If no one signs up the leader may not show up.
Inclement weather cancels and if in doubt, contact leader.
If you wish to bring a dog please contact the leader as some properties do not allow them. However, if a dog is present, they must be leashed at all times.
