Earth Day Roadside Clean-Up

Join members of the Naromi Council of Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy in sprucing up the roadsides and trailheads of Sherman preserves.

Let’s continue the tradition of adopting a trailhead and section of roadside to clean.  It is a great way to celebrate Earth Day and beautify your community.  Please call (860-927-1927) or email info@ctland.org to let us know where you plan to go or let us assign you.  That way we can be sure all the preserves benefit.  Recruit a friend or family member – the job goes faster with helpers.

Large trash bags will be available at the Sherman Town Hall in the days before the 24th, or, on the 24th they can be picked up at the town hall parking lot.  Not sure you’ll be available that morning?  Do your clean-up on days before the 24th and then bring the trash to the Mallory Town Hall lower parking lot on the 24th.  The trash from town roads should be taken to the dumpster at the Mallory Town Hall lower parking lot.  But garbage along the state roads (Routes 55, 39, and 37) should be left in the trash bags on those roadsides.  The DOT will pick up those bags on April 26th.  Please wear bright clothing or ask for a vest from Town Hall so that you will be easily visible to traffic.  And remember to wear gloves; thin plastic under heavy gloves are the most protective for picking up glass, cans, and unsavory items.

Closer to the 24th Sherman residents will receive more details about other clean-up options that day for e-waste, bulky waste, scrap metal, and returnable bottles/cans (no hazardous waste that day).  Call Ruth at the Sherman First Selectman’s office – 860-355-1129 or send an email to rbyrnes@townofshermanct.org with any questions specific to those options.

Preserves in Sherman that need most clean up:

• Wimisink Preserve
• Towner Hill Preserve
• Cedar Heights Open Space (Rte 39 N and Sunny Lane, across from Spring Lake Road)
• Hadlow Preserve (Rte 37 S side)
• Greenwoods Open Space (Rte 37S near Chimney Hill Road)
• Gussow Glen (Rte 37 E near Holiday Point Road)

Clean-ups in other towns

Kent – Kent Conservation Commission is organizing roadside cleanup efforts from April 11 through April 25. Call the Town Clerk at 860-927-3433 if you would like to help.

Sharon – Sharon Energy and Environment Commission are meeting (from a safe distance) on Saturday, April 17 at 10:00 AM in front of the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon (masks required). They will provide routes, safety vests, latex gloves, and garbage bags but ask that if you already own a safety vest to please bring that (Rain date, April 18).

Warren – Warren Townwide Clean Up, organized by the Warren Land Trust and Warren Parks and Rec. April 24 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Meet at the Warren General Store to get garbage bags and rubber gloves.  You select the stretch of road to clean. There will be a dumpster at the Warren Town Garage for the trash collected.

On January 6, 2021, The Nature Conservancy of Connecticut transferred ownership of the 300+ acre Iron Mountain Preserve to the Kent Land Trust. NCLC will support the permanent conservation of these lands by holding a conservation easement on the property. Preserve’s quiet wooded landscape is a popular destination for hikers on its “lollipop loop” trail, just under 3 miles roundtrip. It was created in 1974 and 1981 by the donation of 257 acres by Mrs. Walter E. Irving. Mrs. Irving’s neighbors Brigitta Lieberson, Joseph Gitterman, and Vilma Kurzer followed her lead with additional gifts in 1983, 1984, 1987, and 1991.

The Preserve is a key part of the scenic vista which caused the Town of Kent to name Geer Mountain Panorama as one of Kent’s 23 Town Character Areas. The blue-blazed hiking trail emanates from the parking area on Treasure Hill Road and then splits into a loop that circumnavigates the Ore Hill summit. Signs of past human occupation include stone walls, charcoal mounds, wire fencing, three old foundations, a former orchard, and several old wood roads. Patches of locally-important farm soils connect back to its agricultural use after being denuded of trees used to produce charcoal for Kent’s iron industry. Many charcoal mounds remain, some clearly visible from the trail. In addition to providing a wonderful recreational resource for the Kent community, the Preserve is an important area for wildlife: Part of an 890-acre core forest block interlaced with several stream courses, it is home to bobcat, bear, coyotes, deer, owls, and many other native species.

Earlier this month Americorps Team River 4 joined NCLC staff for two days of work at our Kahn Preserve in New Milford and our Cobble Brook Vista Preserve in Kent. At the Kahn Preserve, the Americorps team and NCLC carried in lumber and tools about a mile into the preserve to build bog bridges, cleared brush on the trail, repaired erosion damage, and improved a culvert. These new bog bridges will help keep hikers’ feet dry and reduce trail erosion and “braiding” from hikers trying to find alternate routes around streams and low spots. At Cobble Brook Vista, the team cleared trees that fell during the summer and fall storms on the Orange trail to the Outlook.

Tree, Baylee, and Sophia are from California, Oklahoma and Washington DC, respectively. This was their first visit to New England, and although working during the greatest public health crisis of our time has been challenging, they have been enjoying seeing a new part of the country and working in service of organizations like NCLC and our partner land trusts.

We are truly thankful for these extraordinary young people who signed up for service in such a difficult year, and to the Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative for bringing them to Northwest CT!