PEOPLE
embracing Every Body
Every year, the Branford Land Trust hosts an environmental day camp for kids, an Indigenous cultures film screening, and a speaker series. We host guided hikes and offer programs on birding, animal tracking, and horseshoe crabs.
But we recognize that there are many in our community who have historically been underserved by land trusts, including people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, youth, faith-based groups, people with disabilities, and veterans.
Taking a cue from the natural world, we know that we are stronger when we are diverse.
Our BLT is for Every Body campaign is focused on ways to welcome everyone to enjoy Branford’s open spaces, hiking trails, and our BLT programs. We’re excited to be partnering with the Connecticut Land Conservation Council and their Pathways to Nature program, and refocusing our efforts to foster a broader connection within our community, including:
- recruitment of a more diverse volunteer corps and leadership
- programs for affinity groups in our community
- outreach to all new Branford residents
- events in more neighborhoods throughout town
- new speakers and topics in our Winter Speaker Series
- scholarships for our children’s summer environmental day camp
PLACES
making places easier
for Every Body to gather
Our home base is the Land Trust House (LTH) at 26 School Street, in a circa 1865 schoolhouse and fire house that we are renovating for accessibility as well as structural integrity, energy efficiency, and historic preservation. Work at the LTH is well underway and is on schedule to be completed within one year.
The ongoing work at the LTH has helped us better understand our community’s needs for accessibility, and as a result, we’re undertaking a variety of improvements including:
- constructing an ADA accessible entrance, lavatory and parking at the LTH
- employing technology for the hard-of-hearing on our guided hikes
- using technology and services for the deaf/Deaf and hard-of-hearing at BLT meetings and programs
All of these accessibility features will allow for more diverse attendance and greater participation at all of our programs!
Removing barriers enables everyone to experience the benefits of nature!
PRESERVES
ensuring Every Body has access
to the benefits of nature
One of the newest additions to the BLT preserves is the Todds Hill Wet Meadow Preserve, and plans are already underway to construct our first All Persons Trail with accessible parking and accessible interpretive signage, as well as sensory elements for people with neurodiversity.
The Todds Hill project is being overseen by a community advisory board of people with disabilities, and has already received competitive grants for the All Persons Trail.
An All Persons Trail is a specially designed, universally accessible trail created for people of all abilities, including those using wheelchairs or with limited mobility, balance challenges, sensory impairments like blindness or deafness and neurodiversity such as dementia and autism spectrum. The trail is being built according to ADA best practices.
Sited north of I-95 between Brushy Plains and Cherry Hill roads, the Todds Hill Wet Meadow Preserve will be an important asset for the whole town. Stay tuned — we will break ground soon!
THIS IS YOUR LAND TRUST
Every Body means you, too!
Maybe you’ve hiked along one of our trails, enjoyed a view across a protected salt marsh, or noticed our blue and green striped signs throughout town. This is your Branford Land Trust, an integral part of quality of life here in Branford.
The Branford Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, accredited by the Land Trust Alliance, established in 1967 to protect Branford’s open space and natural resources. The BLT receives no financial support from the Town, State, or Federal Government. We rely solely on membership dues, donations, and competitive grants. Run entirely by volunteers, the BLT protects over 1,400 acres in Branford and maintains more than 30 miles of hiking trails that are open to the public for free.
