The Westerly Land Trust

Summer Solstice Yoga on the Farm- BarreCoast
2023-06-21 17:30 - 18:30 (America/New_York) | Winnapaug Farm Preserve, 117 Shore Road, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States, 117 Shore Rd, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
Join us for a Summer Solstice Yoga class, led by Krystal Rose, to celebrate and connect with the energy of the summer solstice.
HOW TO REGISTER
Enroll Online at barrecoast.com or contact the studio.
WLT MEMBER DISCOUNTS
WLT members please contact Erika Lebling at elebling@westerlylandtrust.org for reduced price registration of $10!
Not-yet a WLT member but would like to be?
To become a member today please CLICK HERE.

Pollinator Safari
2023-06-20 10:00 - 11:30 | Avondale Farm Preserve, Quail Run, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
Get your bug nets ready, it’s pollinator week! Come explore and discover the diverse pollinating insects in your backyard environment.

Join the Westerly Land Trust and the amazing Dr. Rachael Bonoan, head of the Providence College’s Pollinator Lab, for this all-ages, family-friendly event.
Dr. Bonoan will guide us through beautiful Avondale Farm Preserve where we will find, capture and identify the bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects doing the critical work of keeping our local ecosystems in balance. Get up close to these winged critters and learn how to use “bug vacuums”, nets, and field guides to catch, identify, and release some amazing pollinators. Learn from the experts how pollinators do their jobs, why they are important, and what we can do to help them!
Please prepare to romp out in the sun and tall grass; sturdy shoes, pants, sun/bug protection and water are recommended. There are no restroom facilities at Avondale, so plan accordingly.
Parking- Park at the Quail Run parking lot. Overflow parking will be available at Grassland Way. Please meet at Quail Run Parking lot at 10:00 AM.

Registration required.
Event is open to ALL ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Children under 12 are FREE.
Event is FREE for WLT members and $10 for not-yet-members.
CLICK HERE to become a member today!

To learn more about Rachael and her lab click here.

Thursday Hike: Flora Whiteley/Cottrell Preserve, Westerly– End of Season Get Together
2023-06-15 10:00 - 12:00
The WLT’s Flora Whitely Preserve abuts the Pawcatuck River upstream of the Potter Hill dam and features a boat portage at the bridge. The WLT Cottrell Preserve is 21 acres which is boarded on the north by the Pawcatuck River and on the south by the Westerly Town Forest. It will be a moderate woods walk. Parking is still a challenge so we will meet at Flora Whitely Preserve on Potter Hill Road. We will return to Flora Whitely to have a picnic. Bring your own lunch, beverage and lawn chair.
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.
PLEASE NOTE:

Hikes leave promptly.
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 last Thursday in April to the last day in May, annually.

POP-UP: Bloomin' Brunch
2023-06-10 11:00 - 13:00 | Crandall Family Preserve, 79 Pound Road, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 10!! After keeping a watchful eye on the Rhododendrons and Mountain Laurel blooms we believe this will be the best time!

Join us for a guided hike through Crandall Family Preserve and walk through the forest of mountain laurel and rhododendrons. We will end the hike at the overlook where we will gather for a light brunch and mimosas. The trail we will be hiking is only accessible through special guided hikes such as this event. You won’t want to miss these plentiful blooms that line the trails in every direction. Hike is approximately 3.5 miles total.
This event is $5 for members, and $15 per person for not-yet members. Not a member, but would like to be? CLICK HERE!
Registration required, spots are limited.

POP-UP: Bloomin' Brunch
2023-06-10 11:00 - 13:00 | Crandall Family Preserve, 79 Pound Road, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 10!! After keeping a watchful eye on the Rhododendrons and Mountain Laurel blooms we believe this will be the best time!

Join us for a guided hike through Crandall Family Preserve and walk through the forest of mountain laurel and rhododendrons. We will end the hike at the overlook where we will gather for a light brunch and mimosas. The trail we will be hiking is only accessible through special guided hikes such as this event. You won’t want to miss these plentiful blooms that line the trails in every direction. Hike is approximately 3.5 miles total.
This event is $5 for members, and $10 per person for not-yet members. Not a member, but would like to be? CLICK HERE!
Registration required, spots are limited.

Thursday Hike: Carter Preserve, Charlestown
2023-06-08 10:00 - 13:00
This 5-mile walk on Nature Conservancy property has trails through various terrain, including grassland and woods. Easy trails on rolling hills with beautiful scenery. Mountain laurel will hopefully be in bloom during our visit. Meet and park at 400 Old Mill Road. Follow short dirt road under power lines to parking area.
To sign up, contact hike leader: Jeff Walker # 401-447-1879. Email: Jeffrey.walker@cox.net
Thursday hikes are FREE. Be sure to wear hiking boots or good walking shoes.
PLEASE NOTE:

Hikes leave promptly.
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 last Thursday in April to the last day in May, annually.

Forest Bathing
2023-06-03 13:30 - 15:30 | Wahaneeta Preserve, 118 Moorehouse Road, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
Slow down, awaken your senses and connect with Nature as you luxuriate in a Forest Bath!

Join Dr. Deirdre O’Connor for a slow and easy walk in Wahaneeta Preserve. Forest Bathing is the pleasant practice of spending time in nature for the purpose of enhancing health and happiness. Evidenced based research confirms that time in nature has profound healing benefits for physical and emotional well – being. The term Forest Bathing comes from the Japanese tradition of “shin-rin yoku” literally translated to “bathing in the atmosphere of the forest”. On this walk you will experience and learn about how the regular practice of Forest Bathing can restore health and vitality by strengthening immune function, lowering stress hormones, improving mood and sleep, and stimulating creativity. Forest Bathing also offers us the opportunity to deepen our relationship with the natural world.
You will be walking slowly for about one mile on mostly flat but uneven forest trails as you are offered a series of invitations to explore the landscape with your senses and connect with the natural world. We will be walking and sitting for 2 hours and will finish our walk by sharing tea together. This experience is open to ages 15 and up.

Registration is required. Spots are limited.
Each walk is $30 per person which Deirdre has generously pledged to donate to the Westerly Land Trust.
Parking is limited please car pool if possible

Dr. Deirdre O’Connor is a Certified Forest Therapy Guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. She practiced Naturopathic Medicine in Mystic, CT for over three decades where she was the founder and former Clinical Director of Natura Medica – The Center for Natural Medicine. Deirdre is delighted to continue to share the healing power of Nature through Forest Bathing where Nature and our true natures come to know one another. She resides in Westerly, enjoying birding, botany, bicycling and exploring the next cool place to share Forest Bathing.

Head to Toe Wellness Fair- Wilcox Park
2023-06-01 14:00 - 18:00
Come stop by our table at the Westerly Library and Wilcox Parks to learn more about our Wellness in the Woods initiative! There will be a variety of different vendors, demonstrations, and give aways. Something for everyone from Head to Toe! For more information CLICK HERE!!

Thursday Hike: Herman E. Sheets Family Preserve, North Stonington, CT
2023-06-01 10:00 - 12:00
This preserve offers an enchanting hike through a mixed forest and features vernal pools, active beaver dams, high views of the Green Fall River and various stone foundations of Laurel Glen one of North Stonington’s original villages. The hike is 2.5 – 3.0 miles on a variety of surfaces including packed dirt, grass, pine needles, small boardwalks, occasional rocks and roots, lots of short ups and downs and a switchback or two making it somewhere between easy and slightly moderate in difficulty. Trailhead and parking are located at the mailbox of 94 Puttker Rd, just off of Denison Hill Road. Parking is limited, if you are able, please carpool. Dogs on leash are permitted.
To sign up, contact hike leader: Deirdre O’Connor , 860-287-7281. Email: deirdreo@snet.net (email preferred).
Thursday hikes are FREE. Be sure to wear hiking boots or good walking shoes.
PLEASE NOTE:

Hikes leave promptly.
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 last Thursday in April to the last day in May, annually.

Forest Bathing
2023-05-27 09:30 - 11:30 | Wahaneeta Preserve, 118 Moorehouse Road, Westerly, RI, 02891, United States
Slow down, awaken your senses and connect with Nature as you luxuriate in a Forest Bath!

Join Dr. Deirdre O’Connor for a slow and easy walk in Wahaneeta Preserve. Forest Bathing is the pleasant practice of spending time in nature for the purpose of enhancing health and happiness. Evidenced based research confirms that time in nature has profound healing benefits for physical and emotional well – being. The term Forest Bathing comes from the Japanese tradition of “shin-rin yoku” literally translated to “bathing in the atmosphere of the forest”. On this walk you will experience and learn about how the regular practice of Forest Bathing can restore health and vitality by strengthening immune function, lowering stress hormones, improving mood and sleep, and stimulating creativity. Forest Bathing also offers us the opportunity to deepen our relationship with the natural world.
You will be walking slowly for about one mile on mostly flat but uneven forest trails as you are offered a series of invitations to explore the landscape with your senses and connect with the natural world. We will be walking and sitting for 2 hours and will finish our walk by sharing tea together. This experience is open to ages 15 and up.

Registration is required. Spots are limited.
Each walk is $30 per person which Deirdre has generously pledged to donate to the Westerly Land Trust.
Parking is limited please carpool if you can

Dr. Deirdre O’Connor is a Certified Forest Therapy Guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. She practiced Naturopathic Medicine in Mystic, CT for over three decades where she was the founder and former Clinical Director of Natura Medica – The Center for Natural Medicine. Deirdre is delighted to continue to share the healing power of Nature through Forest Bathing where Nature and our true natures come to know one another. She resides in Westerly, enjoying birding, botany, bicycling and exploring the next cool place to share Forest Bathing.

River Rangers: State Street (Grades 3-4)
2023-05-25 15:45 - 17:15
Living Laboratories for State Street Elementary School Grades 3-4

Join WLT educators to explore the plants and animals that call the river home. Use a dip net to trap and observe these animals in their natural habitat. Discover the important role rivers play on our Earth. Grade 3 – 4 will have the opportunity to perform a water salinity test using more advanced technology!
Program is FREE thanks to a partnership with WPS.
Bus transportation available to and from program.
