Accessible Educational Trails

Design Spotlight: Accessible Educational Trails

A .75 mile long universally accessible trail winds through the northern portion of the property, providing access to several key features and educational areas from the main parking area.

Year-Round Connectivity Between Hubs

A portion of the trail network connecting the new education center to the historic barn can be maintained year-round, allowing for pedestrian connectivity between the two spaces. This path also connects the two parking lots, allowing for easy access between the two spaces when larger on-site events use both parking lots.

Rest Spot Overlook

A resting point midorchard provides a gathering space with a view, situated atop a natural resting spot that would not require regrading.

Rest Spot Overlook

Orchard, Meadow, & Garden Loop .5 miles

U-Pick Permaculture Orchard

The accessible trail winds through a permaculture orchard on the western side of the property, just to the south of the educational center. This orchard could be managed as a “U-Pick” operation, drawing people to the farm and into the landscape. Livestock and poultry are also be pastured in the orchard, providing fertilizer, grazing groundcover, eating fallen fruit, and managing pests. Animals such as chickens can be effective in eating fruit pest larvae located in the soils below fruit trees and in fallen fruit. By integrating accessible paths and numerous agricultural practices in the landscape CT RC&D can demonstrate a variety of agricultural practices to a wide audience through interactive experiences.

Wetland Boardwalk .25 miles

Wetland Educational Boardwalk

The accessible trail connects to the wetlands boardwalk, which is also accessible because of its flat slope and materials; wider stops on the boardwalk allows for two-way pedestrian traffic, and places to gather and rest. The wetlands boardwalk takes trailgoers through a series of wetland habitats, from wet meadow, to cattail marsh, to forested swamp. This provides a variety of educational and recreational opportunities.