Trust for Public Land in Connecticut - 2023

Connecticut

THERE IS SO MUCH TO BE PROUD OF IN 2023 AND MORE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE YEAR AHEAD

Celebrating Trust for Public Land’s 50th Anniversary

Since the beginning, TPL’s vision has been rooted in a singular belief: that access to the outdoors is essential to people’s health and well-being. What started as a bold idea in a small office 50 years ago has blossomed into a nationwide movement to ensure that everyone, no matter where they live, can experience nature.

Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, over the years we have been able to create vibrant parks in the heart of Connecticut cities, like Mill River Park in Stamford, and preserve some of the state’s most cherished natural areas, like Skiff Mountain along the Appalachian Trail, The Preserve in Middlesex County, and Copps Brook Preserve in Stonington.

This year in Connecticut, we celebrated TPL’s 50th anniversary with a series of fun, community events.

In April, we hosted a Community Impact Day in Bridgeport, where TPL is helping transform the city’s industrial waterfront into a thriving shoreline park. Our staff, volunteers, and community members cared for newly planted trees, organized a waterfront cleanup, and made Earth Day paintings at Seaside Park.

In May, we hosted a walking tour of Meadowood in Simsbury. Dr. Fiona Vernal, a historian at University of Connecticut, shared the little-known story of how students from historically Black colleges and universities—including Martin Luther King, Jr.—spent summers working in the fields alongside immigrants from the West Indies, planting the seeds of Hartford’s diversity. Since protecting Meadowood in 2021, TPL has been working with the community to create programming that tells the history and significance of farms in the Connecticut River Valley.

In June, we hosted a 50-mile bike ride—one mile for every year since our founding—along the East Coast Greenway. “I love my job—and this event reminded me of why,” said Connecticut State Director Walker Holmes. “We biked with longtime friends and with people who have never heard of TPL, through some of Connecticut’s most beautiful landscapes. At the end of the ride, I was exhausted yet

inspired by how many people participated and how many new friends we met that day.”

Looking back on TPL’s history in Connecticut, and across the country, we are encouraged to see that our commitment to community has always been a part of who we are. And we are just getting started!

It is an exciting time to be a part of the TPL family, as we look for new opportunities to connect to nature, our histories, and each other. With your enduring support, we will continue to make Connecticut a greener and more equitable place for all. Thank you!

BOTH: © TPL STAFF

A Conversation with the State Director

KM: What do you like about working at TPL?

WH: There is a classic TPL phrase among our colleagues: “I came for the land, and I stayed for the people.” For me it is not a cliché because it is true! Working every day under a set of shared values with so many people who want to do good in the world through land and community is a dream.

My happiest moments on the job are when I get to be outside. It could be a ribbon-cutting with the community and state and local elected officials. It could be a walk in the woods with a board member or one of our supporters and friends. It could be a tour of a future park site which is now nothing more than a vacant lot. There is nothing more powerful than sharing these experiences with people and realizing the potential that a piece of land holds for transforming communities.

KM: Can you talk about some of the people you have met through your job? How do they shape the work?

WH: I am so inspired by the community members that we have worked with on projects over the years and what people will do to protect and improve their own community. When we were working on Johnson Oak Park in Bridgeport, one of the community champions was (and still is!) a gentleman named Tom. He would often say, “If we want our children and the youth in this neighborhood to believe in the possibility of the future, we have to help them see the glory of the past.”

Tom believed that people, especially young people, didn’t see the value of investing in their community because they didn’t believe it could improve. But Tom knows—and TPL agrees—that land has meaning, and land has significance. Every piece of land has a history, and people who care about places can keep the history alive and let those stories light up a brighter future.

KM: Do you have a story of a project that was community driven?

WH: All of TPL’s projects are centered on community. But Sterling Street Sanctuary in Hartford stands out. It is a community space that hums with energy and history— and its name is a nod to what this place offers to nearby residents. TPL was asked to help save this 1.2-acre property from development. I don’t think we have done anything like this before in Connecticut, but we couldn’t pass up this project. We are so moved by community organizer Kamora Herrington’s programming. She brought her Cultural Corner to Sterling Street and galvanized the community around this space.

Sterling Street was and continues to be used as a place to gather, share ideas, celebrate culture, and feel a sense of belonging. This is a unique example because the community already transformed the former parking lot into an outdoor sanctuary. It is our job to make sure that it is protected and remains a vital community resource. We are inches away from accomplishing just that!

Katie Michels (right), a TPL Connecticut Advisory Board fellow and graduate student at the Yale School of the Environment and School of Management, spoke to Walker Holmes (left), TPL vice president, mid-Atlantic region and Connecticut state director.

Walker Holmes and Katie Michels. © TPL STAFF

There is nothing more powerful than sharing these experiences with people and realizing the potential that a piece of land holds for transforming communities.”

KM: What do you want to accomplish in the next year? In the next 10 years?

WH: I want to lay the groundwork for increased state funding for parks and open space in Connecticut. This is so needed. Urban parks are underfunded, and state support is an important mechanism for increasing and leveraging federal funding.

I want to make progress on Sliver on the River in Bridgeport as proof of what is possible in Bridgeport and beyond. I really want to do more trails work. We have been protecting land and creating parks for our entire history. Our work has resulted in trails, but I am excited about focusing intentionally on trails. Trail planning work at Mono Pond State Park Reserve will be a new way for us to grow the incredible impact and recreational opportunity these conserved landscapes bring to communities.

I think a lot about using parks and land and schoolyards and trails as tools, as first-tier solutions to some of the most pressing problems and challenges in Connecticut and nationwide. If we do our work right, and put those tools to work, these outdoor spaces will improve the quality of life for people in their neighborhoods.

I look forward to seeing and measuring the impact of our work, and specifically the component that comes from the last part of our mission statement, “ensuring livable communities for generations to come.”

Mono Pond State Park Reserve

Mono Pond State Park Reserve is nothing short of majestic. In fall, its maple trees dazzle the eye with golden foliage, while in summer wild blueberries offer mouth-watering treats. Just 20 miles from Hartford, it is a beloved sanctuary and outdoor playground. A few years ago, TPL added 400 acres to the state park, tripling its size. But these lands are only accessible by a couple of old roads.

TPL is making this addition to the park more accessible with a network of trails. With the Town of Columbia, International Mountain Bicycling Association, and the State, we are developing a trail plan that will create opportunities for hiking, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, and other fun activities. We also hope to link the network to the Air Line State Park Trail, which at 55 miles is one of Connecticut’s few long-distance trails. These trails will connect rural towns to nature in their backyards, and, by attracting new visitors and business, bring new prosperity as well.

© NICK BENSON

TPL’s Honor Lawler receives the Friends of Mono Pond State Park Award for her work to protect this cherished natural resource.

TOP: © TPL STAFF; BOTTOM: © RICH FREEDA

Renewing Bridgeport’s Waterfront for All

The City of Bridgeport looks out on the cool blue waters of the Long Island Sound. But most of its post-industrial shoreline is inaccessible to residents.

TPL is helping the city remake the underutilized waterfront into a thriving coastal park, which will meander nearly 20 miles along the shore through many neighborhoods. The first piece, Sliver by the River, is a four-acre park at the gateway to the city.

The waterfront park is designed by the community for the community. Imagine strolling down a wooden boardwalk, fishing on a floating dock, kayaking on the Sound, exploring marine life in tide pools, and attending performances in an amphitheater—all in downtown Bridgeport.

The waterfront’s transformation will boost outdoor recreation, climate resilience, and local businesses. TPL is helping the city apply for state and federal funding for construction. But we need support from donors to ensure the community has a voice in designing the new park.

Walker Holmes, Connecticut state director, says, “I was recently at the Sliver by the River site with a colleague and a donor. As we were talking, we saw a little plover doing a dance, trying to get our attention. We kept walking on our tour, talking about the future of the park. As we came back, we saw the bird sitting in its nest with tiny speckled eggs peeking out the edge. I thought, maybe the bird knows that something new and wonderful will be here soon. Maybe this tiny bird can predict the future.”

© KRISTYN MILLER

Our Volunteer Leadership

The Connecticut Advisory Board members are our vital partners. They sustain us with their generous support and guide us with their valuable experience. As ambassadors for our organization, they share their passion with friends and colleagues. This year, they helped us celebrate TPL’s 50th Anniversary, joining the bike ride along the East Coast Greenway, Community Impact Day in Bridgeport, and the walking tour of Meadowood in Simsbury.

In April, volunteer advisory board members from across the country traveled to Washington, DC, for TPL’s annual Day on the Hill event. Connecitcut Advisory Board members met with all seven members of the Connecticut congressional delegation, who were enormously supportive of TPL’s mission and our urgings to defend federal funding for conservation and parks and to cosponsor the Outdoors for All Act. Nationally, TPL has helped generate over $93 billion in state and local funding for parks and land conservation through legislative advocacy.

If you’d like to learn how to be a part of positive change, contact Rachel Ciborowski, associate director of philanthropy, at rachel.ciborowski@tpl.org.

CONNECTICUT ADVISORY BOARD

David Berkowitz , Helen & William Mazer Foundation

Wesley D. Cain , Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP

Mildred Carstensen , Conservationist

Raúl de Brigard , Conservationist

Will Gardner, MBA Candidate, Yale School of the Environment and Yale School of Management*

Kay Johnson , Vice President, People Operations & Employee Experience, Avangrid

Rob Klee , Lecturer, Yale School of the Environment

Katie Michels , Yale School of the Environment and Yale School of Management*

Elanah Sherman , Americans with Disabilities Act Coalition of Connecticut

Eric Wellman, Board of Selectmen, Simsbury, CT

Morgan Yucel, MBA Candidate, Yale School of Management*

* Fellow

© TPL STAFF

Connecticut Advisory Board, friends, and staff.

BOTH: © TPL STAFF

THANK YOU

for helping improve the health, equity, and climate outcomes for communities in Connecticut and beyond and for protecting special places for everyone to access and enjoy!

Join us

TPL CONNECTICUT STAFF

Walker Holmes , Vice President, Mid-Atlantic Region and Connecticut State Director

Rachel Ciborowski, Associate Director of Philanthropy

Max Gray, Institutional Giving Director

Cally Guasti, Program Manager

Honor Lawler, Project Manager

June Sgobbo, Philanthropy Coordinator

Anooshka Sethi, Summer Intern, Yale Conservation Scholar

Walker Holmes

Vice President, Mid-Atlantic Region Connecticut State Director walker.holmes@ tpl.org

203.777.7367, x3

Rachel Ciborowski

Help ensure everyone has access to the outdoors. Every park we create, schoolyard we transform, trail we extend, and landscape we protect is thanks to supporters like you.

tpl.org/donate/ct

Associate Director of Philanthropy rachel.ciborowski@ tpl.org

332.245.2832

101 Whitney Avenue 2nd Floor New Haven, CT 06510

COVER, TOP: ©BRANDON LOO ; © RICH FREEDA; © KRISTYN MILLER LARGE: © KRISTYN MILLER; THIS PAGE: © KRISTYN MILLER