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 wildlife programs.
Nature belongs to everyone, but we recognize that there are many in our community who have historically been underserved by land trusts, including people with disabilities, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, faith-based groups, and veterans.
Taking a cue from the natural world, we know that we are stronger when we are diverse.
Our BLT for Every Body campaign is aligning with the Connecticut Land Conservation Council’s Pathways to Nature program, refocusing our efforts to foster a broader connection within our community, including:
- recruitment of more diverse leadership and volunteer corps
- programs for affinity groups in our community
- outreach to all new Branford residents
- events in more neighborhoods throughout town
- new speakers and fresh topics in our Winter Speaker Series
- technology for the hard-of-hearing on our guided hikes
- 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, a circa 1865 schoolhouse and fire house that we are renovating for accessibility as well as structural integrity, energy efficiency, and historic preservation. Our ADA renovations are architecturally sensitive, seamlessly blending modern accessibility with original craftsmanship. Work at the LTH is well underway and is on schedule to be completed within one year. Improvements to LTH include:- constructing an ADA accessible entrance, lavatory and parking
- better lighting for low vision
- technology and services for the deaf/Deaf and hard-of-hearing at BLT meetings and programs
These 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
We are building Branford’s first 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 differences like blindness or deafness, and conditions like dementia. Located at Todds Hill Wet Meadow Preserve, it will offer accessible parking, accessible interpretive signage, and sensory elements for people with neurodiversity.
Accessibility isn’t about regulations, it is about dignity: welcoming aging members, families with strollers, and visitors with mobility challenges. It’s about making nature fully accessible whether you experience the world through sound, sight, or touch.
The Todds Hill project is overseen by a community advisory board of people with disabilities and has already received competitive grants for part of the cost of the trail.
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 — construction is underway and it will be open 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 relies solely on membership dues, donations, and competitive grants to support its efforts. 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.
BLT IS FOR EVERY BODY
Fundraising Goal: $356,000
Help us create a more inclusive and accessible BLT for our entire community by making a donation to the For Every Body Fund. Our goal is to raise $356,000 for these investments:
ADA Modifications to Land Trust House, $110,000
20-year Stewardship of ADA Modifications, $66,000
Matching Requirement for State Grant, $82,000
Adaptive Features for All Persons Trail, $63,000
20-year Stewardship for All Persons Trail, $30,000
Accommodation Services and Future
Tech Upgrades, $5,000
Your contributions, large and small, are important and appreciated. All are tax-deductible as provided by law. Click the DONATE button now or send checks noted “Every Body” to the Branford Land Trust (P.O. Box 254, Branford, CT 06405).
Any funds raised in excess of our goal will go into our general stewardship fund for ongoing care of all BLT properties in perpetuity.
We thank you in advance for your generous support.