Creating a Nature Center for the Estuary

On the marshy banks of the Lieutenant River in Old Lyme, Connecticut, a quiet revolution in environmental education and research has been unfolding for over a decade. Next door to the venerable Florence Griswold Museum’s Impressionist masterpieces, the ten-year-old Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center (RTPEC) is a thriving hub of science, community, and ecological learning. Not so long ago, it was only a dream shared by a small group of passionate individuals. Together they laid the foundation for what would become a center of state and regional significance.

“It all began about ten years ago,” says John Forbis, one of the founding members. “We had a small group of people centered around Eleanor Robinson and Dr. Theodore Van Itallie, who brought together field research and medical science. They wanted to create a nature center with access to the Connecticut River and enough land to support meaningful conservation research and education programming.”

Robinson, whose portrait graces the front room in the center, was a scientific journalist and field researcher, banding birds for the World Wildlife Fund, researching pelagic birds for British Columbia’s natural history museum, and documenting migratory bird behavior as a resident naturalist in New England, Canada, and the Amazon. She was used to doing things on the fly, and until the group found a permanent home, carted teaching materials for the center around in the trunk of her Mini Cooper.

Van Itallie had a very different background as a leading researcher of metabolic diseases, the author of over 200 publications, and the first to demonstrate that weight loss was a function of calorie reduction rather than composition of diet. After serving in World War II, he served as Director of Medicine at St. Luke’s Hospital, helping to transfer it to Columbia University, and then ran the first National Institute for Health Center for Obesity Research.

Robinson and Van Itallie reached out to Forbis, a retired executive, because of his involvement with the Mentoring Corps for Community Development (MCCD). MCCD was founded in 2012 and serves as a consultative resource to local businesses, not-for-profits, and individuals throughout Southeast Connecticut. It has helped over 100 organizations, and this one, which eventually became the Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center, has been one of the most successful.

“I’m not a naturalist,” Forbis laughs. “I’m a registered architect. I got involved through MCCD, looking for my next project. It has now been a decade.”

The group named itself after Roger Tory Peterson, the famed artist, writer, teacher, and conservationist who lived and worked in Old Lyme. They met twice a week during the summer of 2014 in Forbis’s barn and other places throughout town. “We began to distill their vision,” he explains, “into a pragmatic concept, something you could communicate in four or five pages. We looked at properties, brainstormed programming, and started building relationships.”

Other people were enlisted on the project, some of whom helped briefly, some of whom would stay on as board members and consultants.

In early 2014 they formed a relationship with the Connecticut Audubon Society. “Ralph Wood, their chairman, proposed we become one of their centers,” Forbis recalls. “Being part of a venerable statewide conservation organization gave us credibility as well as access to their expertise in birding, conservation, education, and fundraising.” They also built a science board, partnered with top researchers like Rocky Geyer from Woods Hole, and aligned their programs with Next Generation Science Standards. “We’ve been methodical,” says Forbis. “That science background was an important key for schools and helped us grow.”

“I wasn’t an original board member,” says Claudia Weicker, current board chair. “I joined in early 2015 and was asked to be chair shortly after. I said I’d only do it if Eleanor agreed to be co-chair. She had the science background, and I had organizational experience.”

That organizational experience included working in the Department of the Treasury’s Office of International Trade, a Wall Street investment firm, and in the United States Senate on the professional staff, the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, and then the Appropriations Committee where she became the first woman in either branch of Congress to head the staff of an appropriations subcommittee. After marrying Lowell Weicker in 1984, she became First Lady of Connecticut when he was elected governor in 1991.

“Eleanor was my neighbor,” she says. “One day, she said, ‘You need purpose in your life—come join us.’ I told her I knew nothing about birds. She said, ‘You don’t have to.’” Weicker’s background in health and education policy gave her a unique perspective that ended up being another piece in the puzzle of the growing center. “I saw a way to connect my interests with something that applied to everyone in our region,” she says.

In the spring of 2015 the center was introduced to the larger public through the Connecticut River Lecture Series, bringing experts on a variety of topics from the conservation story of the osprey to habits of hummingbirds to the survival of Atlantic sturgeons. The team also launched its first educational pilot program with 35 third graders in Essex. “This past year, those third graders graduated from high school,” Weicker reflects. Since its beginning, “We’ve grown from that small start to teaching 50,000 children from Pre-K through middle school, with some high school involvement,” she notes. After early success, the center slowly began to build a scaffolding of programs that today includes hands-on, experiential learning using scientific equipment and conducting experiments, as well as outdoor activities such as explorations of local habitat and indoor learning, art, and storytelling.

The center’s mission, rooted in science and education, has gone beyond that to a fuller and deeper appreciation of the environment. “We want people to appreciate that science and nature are connected,” Weicker says. “Whether it’s artists drawn to the light of Old Lyme or scientists studying the estuary, this place inspires.”

The group continued to search for a permanent home, and finally, after five years, in December 2020 they purchased the historic, 8,000-square-foot former Bee and Thistle Inn, built in 1756 for Judge William Noyes and his family.  “We didn’t move in until late spring 2021,” says Weicker. “We did some freshening up, took out the kitchen, and created classrooms and a lab. With access to the sanctuary and Lieutenant River, it is now a place where kids can explore nature hands-on.” The center even offers housing for visiting scientists. “We refinished the upstairs of the cottage into a studio apartment,” Weicker says. “It allows us to host visiting lecturers and researchers.”

Thousands of children are educated both off-site at local schools and on-site throughout the year through after school programs, day trips, and summer camps. Twenty percent of the summer program children are on full scholarship. “We serve underserved populations in cities like New London and offer after-school programs both here and in schools,” says Weicker.

Alisha Milardo, the center’s executive director since 2019, adds, “We’re filling a need in the community. There weren’t many places where kids could learn about leaves or soil chemistry in a hands-on way. Now we’re that place.”

Milardo grew up in Guilford and for 12 years was the director and then vice president of education at Soundwaters. “The outdoors was my playground,” she says. “This community gets that. They want to protect it, and we’re giving them the tools to do that.”

“We have a learning ladder here for everyone—whether you’re 5 or 65,” she continues. “We offer internships for high school and college students, and we teach in local high schools and universities. We’re not at capacity yet, and that’s exciting.”

The property, though modest at slightly over five acres, is ecologically rich. “There are four or five distinct ecosystems here,” Weicker explains. “Wetlands, riparian borders, green spaces, a native bird garden, a berry garden, and an organic vegetable garden. We’re working to make the riparian border both accessible and resilient, with federal funding to help us create resiliency, build trails and boardwalks.”

Milardo emphasizes the center’s growing role in conservation science. “There’s not a month that goes by where we’re not collecting data—counting birds, tagging monarchs, studying fireflies, or monitoring water quality in Long Island Sound. We’re even partnering with kelp fishermen and building oyster reef balls to prevent erosion.”

Technology has also played a key role. “We started with solar microscopes that even a visiting scientist struggled with,” Weicker recalls. “Now we use digital microscopes that project images onto screens so kids can share discoveries with their classmates.”

Today, the Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center has a beautiful residence, five full-time employees, part time workers, and dozens of volunteers willing to put the time in to continue its success. They have combined data, education, and conservation, and continue to be driven by a shared vision and a collaborative spirit. They had help along the way from MCCD and The Connecticut Audubon Society, but everyone credits one thing to this outstanding success: leadership. Not the work of one charismatic, talented innovator, but many.

“Most of our key members were leaders before,” Forbis reflects. “We created an environment where those leaders could lead. Building an organization like Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center takes a lot of work, and over the time that we’ve been talking about, there’s probably been as many as 12 to 15 people who have shown real leadership over an extended period of time.”

Weicker agrees and credits the center’s growth to this assemblage of leaders into a strong, diverse board. “Each member brought something unique,” she says. “Skills, viewpoints, experience. John Forbis, for example, is methodical and full of ideas. He knows how to implement them.”

Milardo praises the cooperative environment and dedicated involvement. “The board is incredibly hands-on. Everyone brings something to the table—finance, architecture, wildlife management, strategic planning. It’s a true collaboration,” she says. “I came in just before the pandemic, and we’ve had the same team ever since. That kind of stability is rare.”

The future looks bright for this young but thriving institution. Visitors are welcome to the site. A story boardwalk for children, bird and butterfly gardens, an organic garden, and a recently opened cottage, now the Kelsey Family Children’s Innovation and Discovery Center, are only the beginning of improvements to the property. Restoration of habitat, a nature trail, and a resilient and accessible riparian border are planned for 2026. An ongoing capital campaign will provide funds to restore and update the 1756 main building, making it accessible and a place for community, education, and collaboration.

Partnerships with the Florence Griswold Museum, the Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library, The Lyme Art Association, and over a dozen nonprofits in the lower watershed have all been discussed or are already in motion. More students, more scientific endeavors, and more community involvement are all on the horizon. “When you come to one of our lectures or events, you’re part of the family,” says Milardo. “We want you to leave feeling proud, like you’ve been part of something bigger than yourself—something that’s going to make a real difference.”

“We’re small, but we’re eager,” Weicker concludes. “The Connecticut River is what joins us. It’s our common interest. We should all be making a concerted effort to protect it.”

Eric Lehman is the award-winning author of 22 books, including New England Nature, New England at 400, Quotable New Englander, and A History of Connecticut Food.

The Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center is a River Partner of Estuary magazine. For more information visit ctaudubon.org/rtpec.