The Trust for Public Land in Connecticut THERE IS SO MUCH TO BE PROUD OF
in 2021
AND MORE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE YEAR AHEAD
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US IN CONNECTICUT As a Trust for Public Land supporter, you are contributing to healthy, equitable, resilient communities. Like you, we believe that parks and land are precious and that everyone deserves access to nature. In early 2020, when the pandemic first limited travel and inside gatherings, Connecticut residents turned to the outdoors, rediscovering the ease and stress-free joys of walking, camping, and relaxing. But this mass movement outdoors also exposed that not everyone has equal access to nature. As our state recovers from COVID-19, equitable access to nature’s benefits is more important than ever. Now is the time to champion the pivotal role of parks in addressing inequities and ensure that the healing power of nature is available to all. The Trust for Public Land is committed to advancing equity, health, and climate resilience through nature in every community we serve.
Since 1972, we have created more than 5,000 parks and green spaces, safeguarded more than 3.7 million acres, put a park within a 10-minute walk of home for more than 9 million people, and generated more than $85 billion in public funding for parks, trails, and open spaces. In Connecticut, The Trust for Public Land is reimagining urban waterfronts as vibrant parks, protecting farmland with a civil rights history, safeguarding precious watersheds and birding destinations, and creating community schoolyards for outdoor learning and play. All of this is possible because of your support. Thank you for creating happier, healthier communities where all people can thrive!
NICK BENSON PHOTOGR APHY, LLC
Johnson Oak Park Bridgeport, CT
OUR COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY Health: Public health is too often determined by zip code. We aim to change that by forging new access to trails that make our neighborhoods more liveable. In eastern Connecticut, we are expanding Mono Pond State Park and linking trail networks with opportunities for healthy recreation—like the 50-mile Air Line State Park Trail. This trail network and others in the state are major drivers of the recreation economy and a dynamic resource for healthy exercise like hiking, biking, birding, and jogging.
As a Trust for Public Land supporter, you are contributing to healthy, equitable, resilient communities. You know that a just and vibrant society is built on land for people. Despite a mass migration outside, the pandemic has shown that not everyone in Connecticut enjoys equal access to the many benefits of green spaces—from reducing stress and hypertension rates to protecting neighborhoods from extreme heat and violent storms. The healing power of nature offers a powerful response to the inequities we face today. That is why we are working harder than ever to support communities across the state as they begin to recover. In Connecticut, we have set long- and short-term goals that will challenge us to protect the places that matter most, from New Britain to Bridgeport. To fulfill our commitment to communities and build a more equitable future, we are working hand-in-hand with local partners to create great parks, public lands, trails, and schoolyards with proven benefits for health, equity, and climate. RICHARD FREEDA
Equity: Walk around any Connecticut city, and it’s easy to see: Not all neighborhoods are created equal. On a per-person basis, residents of lowincome neighborhoods have access to 42 percent less park space than residents of high-income communities across the country—and nearly 50 percent less in some Connecticut cities. In Bridgeport and Hartford, we are partnering with schools, businesses, and underserved residents to create public access to rivers and waterways. This year, we will support those communities as they lead the design process for new urban parks and nature preserves. Climate: Communities need real-world solutions to the climate crisis. Shorter winters, heat waves, intense rainstorms, and a rising sea level are taxing our aging infrastructure. By creating resilient waterfront parks, we cool Connecticut cities and protect communities from more frequent and damaging storms and floods.
Donate today!
Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center Mystic, CT
tpl.org/connecticut
PRESERVING CONNECTICUT’S CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY
During both World Wars, while much of their workforce was away fighting, tobacco growers in Connecticut recruited thousands of seasonal laborers from around the country and the world to keep their farms running. A partnership with Atlanta’s Morehouse College sent students north to work in these fields and earn money for tuition. One of those students was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose experience on this Simsbury tobacco farm planted the seeds for his vision of racial equality in America. Today, the story of Meadowood is still being written. On the heels of our effort to protect the land, The Trust for Public Land is now working with the town, residents, partners, and the State Historic Preservation Office to safeguard and communicate this land’s historic significance. Together, we are ensuring the future public space is welcoming to all people to explore, learn, and grow. We need your help to preserve the history of Meadowood and the places that matter most— be they farmland, forest, waterfront, or urban parks. Together, we can build a future on the land that is inclusive for all.
THE FUTURE OF CONSERVATION This year, thanks to the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program and Yale School of the Environment, we hosted an impressive team of summer professionals. Bobbie D. Norman,
KESHA L AMBERT
In fall 2021, we protected a one-of-a-kind piece of farmland in Simsbury. It now boasts 285 acres of fertile soils for local farming, prime birding, and majestic parkland for visitors near and far. But the site, known as Meadowood, also offers a fascinating history.
Meadowood Simsbury, CT
Tiffany Pauls, and Cally Guasti took on the task of researching the history of the land we are protecting and its formative impact on individuals and communities. Through interviews, testimonies, and archival research, they unearthed remarkable stories about the experiences of seasonal farmworkers in the Farmington Valley during the Jim Crow era. Our three summer professionals approached their research with fresh perspectives and the knowledge of their own lived experiences. By sharing the stories of the Black, white, and Hispanic people who worked the land, the summer professionals’ efforts emphasize the impact of land on everyday lives and the importance of our work connecting people to place. These smart, capable young folks are the future of conservation—and that future is looking bright.
EQUITABLE COMMUNITIES FUND TPL STAFF
Pequonnock River at Knowlton Park Bridgeport, CT
COVID-19 has proven the importance of quality parks and open spaces to our quality of life. But 100 million people, including 28 million kids, do not have a park within a 10-minute walk of home. The Trust for Public Land believes that when there is equal access to nature, communities will be stronger, healthier, more livable, and more connected. We launched the Equitable Communities Fund (ECF) to energize the efforts of disadvantaged and historically marginalized communities nationwide who need resources, capacity, and financial support to accelerate the creation of parks and open space. Thanks to ECF donors, we awarded $200,000 to seven Trust for Public Land on-the-ground projects to advance toward shovel-ready status. One of those projects is in Bridgeport, where the community is envisioning a climatesmart park along the city’s planned 20-mile waterfront pathway.
A WATERFRONT CITY REINVENTS ITSELF The city of Bridgeport was once an industrial powerhouse. In its heyday, it produced everything from corsets and phonographs to sewing machines and steam-powered automobiles. As heavy industry faded, however, the city lost jobs and shed residents, all while suffering the lingering environmental effects of industrial pollution. Bridgeport is in the midst of a waterfront revitalization. Once transformed, the 20-mile shoreline pathway will provide close-to-home park access to nearly 40,000 people. Fifty-four percent of potential park users are low-income, while 47 percent are Hispanic, 36 percent white, and 33 percent Black. The new non-motorized transportation route will offer new recreational opportunities for community members such as boating, walking, and biking. The living shoreline will also make the city cooler, address flooding concerns, and protect against the growth threats caused by the climate crisis.
Meet the Connecticut team Connecticut Advisory Board
Connecticut staff
David Berkowitz, Chair
Walker Holmes, State Director
Shantanu Agrawal Susan Balloch Kara Bohnsack Bill Buchanan Wesley D. Cain Mildred Carstensen Raúl de Brigard Rob Klee Erin Nicholls
Nick Hoffman, Director of Philanthropy Honor Lawler, Project Manager, Land Protection Raul Irizarry, Program Manager, Parks for People June Sgobbo, Sr. Philanthropy Associate Max Gray, Institutional Giving Manager Cally Guasti, Program Intern
Elanah Sherman
RICHARD FREEDA
Donate today
Our work in Connecticut is made possible thanks to the generosity of individuals, companies, and foundations like you.
CURRENT FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES The Trust for Public Land: Give a gift to support our land-for-people mission nationwide. Protect the places that matter most in Connecticut: Protect land and waterways to benefit everyone. Everyone deserves a great park in Connecticut cities: Help communities create and transform parks to reflect local interests, cultures, heritage, and aspirations. Leave a legacy: Create an even bigger impact by making a gift through your will, trust, charitable gift annuity, charitable remainder trust, beneficiary designation, or appreciated assets.
BACK COVER: REBEK AH BUTLER PHOTOGR APHY • FRONT COVER: JERRY AND MARCY MONKMAN/ECOPHOTOGR APHY; RICHARD FREEDA; KESHA L AMBERT; NICK BENSON PHOTOGR APHY; KESHA L AMBERT
Thank you for helping improve the health, equity, and climate outcomes for communities in Connecticut and beyond. We couldn’t do this without you.
Join us 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
Walker Holmes Connecticut State Director walker.holmes@tpl.org Nick Hoffman Director of Philanthropy, Connecticut nick.hoffman@tpl.org 101 Whitney Avenue, 2nd Floor New Haven, CT 06510 203.777.7367