July 13, 2016: The Branford Land Trust has the unique opportunity to purchase and protect two spectacular, diverse properties: Spectacle Island, off the shore of Indian Neck, and Red Hill Woods, a 29-acre wooded parcel at the northern edge of the Hoadley Creek Preserve. Raising the $200,000 necessary for these two purchases will ensure that both are protected for generations to come. [A Branford Land Trust video featuring both Spectacle and Red Hill Woods can be viewed here ]

The purchase of Spectacle Island, an undeveloped granite outcrop island a half-mile off Branford, will ensure the protection of this summer home for nesting cormorants, gulls and other shore birds. The island also offers refuge to harbor seals that visit Long Island Sound during seasonal migrations.

Acquiring Red Hill Woods will increase the protection of a large unfragmented area of coastal forest, an environmentally important habitat that is disappearing from Connecticut. Over the last four decades, the Branford Land Trust, Guilford Land Conservation Trust and Town of Branford have progressively created this natural preserve, already more than 950 contiguous acres, that covers much of the watersheds of Hoadley and Jarvis Creeks on the Branford-Guilford border. This very important acquisition also protects one of only two trails that connect from Branford to Guilford's Westwoods trails, and is home to several threatened and endangered species.

Please join us for one of our upcoming walks at Red Hill Woods and see this stunning property for yourself.

Saturday, July 23, 10am

Saturday, August 6, 10am

Saturday, August 27, 10am

Saturday, September 10, 10am

Saturday, September 24, 10am

The walks are approximately one mile in length, and will take about an hour. Walkers should expect moderate terrain, with some sloping trails and inclines. Bring water. Walking sticks welcome.Directions: From Leetes Island Road, turn onto Red Hill Road and continue past Van Wie Pond to the very end of the road. Park along the gravel lane.

All contributions, large and small, are important and tax deductible. Watch your mail and local media this summer for more about efforts to preserve Spectacle Island and Red Hill Woods. To make a donation today in support of the Land Trust's efforts to preserve these amazing spaces, please visit www.branfordlandtrust.org and click on the turtle. Contact the BLT at (203) 483-5263 or info@branfordlandtrust.org for information about the public walks, how to coordinate an employer's matching grant program, or to arrange a gift of appreciated stock.

Help us continue in our mission to preserve open space in Branford and to promote our community's appreciation of Branford's diverse natural features. Visit our website to see a current schedule of walks, take a virtual tour of the property, and to make an online donation today: www.branfordlandtrust.org.