Let’s Go

Let's Go

American Rivers
Welcome to our Newest River Partner!
American Rivers is a national organization based in Washington, DC, with regional offices, including in the northeast. Its mission is to work for a future when every river is clean and healthy for people and wildlife. The northeast regional office is led by Andrew Fisk. Working for healthy rivers across New York and New England, Fisk is energized by working with local communities to find environmental problems and fix them so that everyone can be sustained by the benefits of nature.

Readers know Andy from his Connecticut River Critters column for Estuary. Andy also kicked off our Connecticut River Watershed Seminar Series in January with a fascinating talk about water quality within the Connecticut River watershed. He explained that changes in how we evaluate and measure water quality have occurred over time as our scientific understanding of clean water has advanced. If you missed Andy’s talk, it is available at youtube.com/@estuarymagazine. You can register for future seminars at estuarymagazine.com/2026/01/webinar2/. For more information about American Rivers, visit Americanrivers.org.

Connecticut River Museum
Experience a Lovely Day on the River
Come experience a lovely day on the water of the Connecticut River this spring. Join the Connecticut River Museum aboard RiverQuest for its Osprey & Eagle Cruises. You’ll pass through bald eagle nesting territories and look for these majestic birds—ospreys, too—that have just returned from their wintering grounds and are working hard to build their nests. Don’t miss their “nestoration” activities!

On May 2, 2026, participate in the third annual Connecticut River Valley Environmental Summit at Wesleyan University. With the theme “Stewardship in Action,” environmental leaders will present sessions about pressing issues affecting the Connecticut River watershed.

CRM’s Summer Camp program for children ages 6–11 offers an opportunity to explore the natural wonders of the Connecticut River through hands-on activities, exciting outdoor adventures, and educational programs. Connecticut River Museum looks forward to seeing you and connecting you with the wonderful Connecticut River. Visit ctrivermuseum.org for details about programs and your next visit.

Rivers Alliance of Connecticut
Working Now for a Better Summer on the Water
Spring is a season of decisions. Long before boats hit the water or swimmers head for their favorite place to cool off, choices are being made that will shape the health of the places we love all year long. How we manage wastewater, protect riverbanks, and regulate recreation determines whether our waters can handle increasing pressure in an era of climate uncertainty.
Rivers Alliance is working to strengthen septic and alternative sewage standards, promote naturally vegetated river edges, and ensure our waterways remain safe and enjoyable for everyone. These issues may sound technical, but their impacts are felt every time we fish, paddle, or simply enjoy the view from shore.

Visit riversalliance.org to learn what’s at stake this legislative session and how you can stay informed and engaged. This spring, let’s not wait to react. Let’s go shape the coming season on the water.

Lyme Land Trust
13th Annual Tour de Lyme—May 31
The Tour de Lyme will be held on May 31, 2026, at a new location this year—the Grassy Hill Preserve. The Tour is the annual fundraiser in support of the Lyme Land Trust. Ride the beautiful hills of Lyme with a choice of six road rides and two mountain bike routes. Upon your return to the beautiful hilltop preserve, food trucks, beer, and music will be waiting for you. Registration includes lunch and beer; picnic-only tickets are available for those who wish to join their rider friends. For more information and to register, visit tourdelyme.org.

Norcross Wildlife Foundation
Connecting Wildlife, Science, and Community
Located within the federally designated Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor, the Norcross Wildlife Foundation (NWF) supports vital habitat connectivity for wildlife impacted by regional habitat loss. NWF advances this mission by integrating scientific research with education, community science, and public programming to build understanding of ecological restoration and expand equitable access to nature through targeted partnerships.

NWF invites you to explore its trail network (open daily until dusk) and participate in its free public programs that connect people with the land and the science guiding its care. From February through May, offerings include Mindfulness Yoga in nature, hands-on outdoor learning, and engaging seminars—both in person and via Zoom. Seminar highlights include The Role of Deer Hunting in Wildlife Conservation on February 28, and a March 28 presentation on Environmental DNA as a Tool for Mapping Biodiversity. Learn more at NorcrossWildlife.org and follow on Facebook and Instagram.

Florence Griswold Museum
Visit Miss Florence’s Art-Filled Home
Have you visited the famed Florence Griswold House recently? Designed by Samuel Belcher in 1817, the late Georgian-style mansion reflects the affluent style of living during Old Lyme’s maritime era. In 1899 the mansion became a boardinghouse for some of the most noted names in American Impressionism. Over 200 artists, including Childe Hassam, Willard Metcalf, and Matilda Browne, found the lush countryside of Connecticut the perfect location for an American art colony.

The Lyme Art Colony artists left their mark not only on canvas but on the doors and wood wall paneling of Miss Florence’s house which created a living gallery. The dining room is a national treasure, unlike any other room in America.

While you’re there, walk the half-mile Artists’ Trail featuring gardens, riverfront, woodlands, and hedgerow that inspired a generation of artists—an experience that interweaves art, history, and nature in ways rarely found in the museum world. For more information visit flogris.org.

The Rockfall Foundation 
Save the Date: Oysters at the Point
The Rockfall Foundation invites high school seniors from the Lower Connecticut River Valley (LCRV) to apply for the Virginia R. Rollefson Environmental Leadership Scholarship. The $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a qualified student who carries out a program, project, or activity that benefits preservation, conservation, restoration, or environmental education in the LCRV. The application deadline is noon on March 19, 2026. Detailed information may be found on the website: https://rockfallfoundation.org/programs/vrrscholarship/.

Save the Date, May 3, 2026, for Oysters at the Point—A Sustainable Seafood Social. This event will be held at Saybrook Point Resort and Marina. Proceeds from the event will support Rockfall’s environmental grants and educational programs. Look for more information at www.rockfallfoundation.org.

Kestrel Land Trust
Spring Programs for You
In the Connecticut River valley of Massachusetts, nature, culture, and community come together through public events for anyone who loves the land. Kestrel Land Trust offers nature walks on themes from native plants to geology to birding, and programs for well-being, like mindfulness in nature.

This spring Kestrel holds its annual Breakfast & Birding event during spring migration in May, forest bathing under the trees at Greenberg Family Conservation Area in March, and in April a program about spring ephemeral plants in the woodlands of Mount Toby.

On April 17 Kestrel is excited to co-host its second Wild & Scenic Film Festival: On Tour in collaboration with Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, featuring inspiring short films about our connections with the land, nature, and community. New events are always being posted on Kestrel’s website, so visit kestreltrust.org to learn more and participate!

East Haddam Land Trust
Enjoy the Outdoor Life, Wonders of a Fresh Season
It’s a time of awakening! As spring opens leaf buds in our woodlands, brings the brightness of wildflowers, and stirs calls of birds in migration, we can enjoy the vibrancy of a new season in forests and fields and along the waterways.

East Haddam Land Trust (EHLT) invites you to join any of its monthly hikes—a leisurely paced walk on the second Sunday of each month and a brisker hike on the last Sunday. Details about these outings and other land trust activities and events are posted on EHLT’s Events Calendar (ehlt.org/calendar), where a click on any listing adds the information to your Google calendar.

East Haddam Land Trust and Lyme Land Trust are working together to encourage participation in individually and jointly sponsored events. See ehlt.org/calendar for details.

CT River Salmon Association
2025–2026 Salmon-in-Schools—30 Years!!!
Bring freshwater and saltwater ecosystems to LIFE for your students! Educate your students about the unique challenges that migratory fish encounter through the eyes of Atlantic salmon. Study the anadromous life cycle of a threatened and endangered species. Connecticut teachers are invited to participate in Salmon-in-Schools—a scientific and environmental learning project. Students participate in all phases, from rearing salmon eggs in the classroom to calculating the Development Index, to stocking rivers. CRSA provides teacher orientation, materials, and support from fisheries biologists at the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.

The program begins with learning about the life cycle and challenges the fish encounter in both freshwater and saltwater ecosystems. It continues with incubating eggs in a chilled aquarium beginning in early January. The eggs hatch mid-February into alevin and then transition to unfed fry. Students take a field trip in late April to early May to stock out their unfed fry into a river with good salmon habitat while experiencing the river’s ecosystem.
To bring Salmon-in-Schools to your classroom, contact salmoninschools@ctriversalmon.org. For more information visit ctriversalmon.org.

Great Meadows Conservation Trust
Preserving Floodplain
Great Meadows Conservation Trust (GMCT) is proud to announce its recent acquisition of 31.6 acres of alluvial floodplain farmland in the Great Meadows of Glastonbury, Connecticut. This purchase, from Botticello Acres, includes six parcels in total and is adjacent to two parcels GMCT purchased from Botticello in 2023. With this purchase, GMCT has direct access to Meadow Road.

Botticello Acres, located in Manchester, has been in operation since 1973 when family members decided to sell excess vegetables from their family garden. Now a successful second-generation farming operation, they have over 50,000 square feet of greenhouse space and 300 acres of farm fields and are the last commercial operating farm in Manchester.

GMCT has purchased this prime flood plain farmland to preserve it in perpetuity and keep it in agricultural production, and will lease it by agreement to Botticello Acres. This purchase was made possible by generous donations to GMCT’s E.B. Wolf Fund. For more information visit gmct.org.

Monitor Monarchs and Count Fireflies
Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center (RTPEC) conservation science initiatives integrate rigorous research with public engagement to address local ecological challenges. Projects focus on coastal resilience through data-driven habitat protection strategies, monarch butterfly monitoring that supports migratory conservation, long-term studies of bird populations to track biodiversity trends, and annual firefly counts that provide insight into overall ecosystem health.

Volunteer opportunities are central to this work, allowing community members to participate directly in the collection of field data. These contributions are carefully validated and shared with national databases, ensuring local observations strengthen large-scale scientific understanding and advance evidence-based conservation. Sign up for RTPEC’s emails at https://ctaudubon.org/whats-new/ to learn about upcoming volunteer opportunities at RTPEC and ways to get involved.

Connecticut River Conservancy
Community Science Volunteering & Events on the Connecticut River
The Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) invites volunteers to participate in community science activities throughout the Connecticut River watershed in spring and summer. Volunteers can help remove water chestnut (an aquatic invasive species) to restore clean water and healthy habitats, conduct sea lamprey nest surveys, or collect samples from the river to provide vital water quality monitoring data. These activities directly support CRC’s work through people power or research. They also serve as an opportunity to learn about our local ecosystems and connect with river enthusiasts.

To learn more and sign up, visit the Get Involved page at ctriver.org. Additional events are listed at ctriver.org/events. If events are not listed yet, sign up at ctriver.org/email to be informed of opportunities as they come up this field season. You can also contact us directly at CRC@ctriver.org or (413) 772-2020.

Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments
Supporting Conservation Activities
Spring is a wonderful time to watch the birds return and explore. Temperatures will be mild, and the views are stunning. To find out more about this beautiful part of Connecticut, visit Inheritance: A Remarkable Conservation Legacy, The Lower Connecticut River and Coastal Region at lcrlt.org/memberresources. To learn more about the 2025 update to the Lower CT River Land Trust conservation planning tool go to www.lcrlt.org.

Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments (RiverCOG), through the Lower Connecticut River Land Trust (LCRLT), is proud to support the conservation activities of the land trusts and communities in the Lower Connecticut River Valley region. Visit one of the many municipal, state, or federal parks, forests, preserves, and refuges in the region. Attend a hike or workshop, visit a local farm, or catch a show at one of the region’s historic theaters or museums. Please remember to support your local land trust!

Save the Sound
Act Now for a Super Summer
The work Save the Sound does all year to protect and restore the water, air, and land of our Long Island Sound backyard also protects your spring and summer: clean water to swim in and drink, less trash underfoot at the beach and drifting past your boat, fish moving upstream to their spawning grounds—and onto your fishing line—and healthy, resilient places to explore with friends and family.

Protecting Long Island Sound matters every day of the year. As warm weather approaches, there are many opportunities to get involved in caring for the environment you value and enjoy. Save the Sound invites you to take part in Earth Month cleanups in Connecticut and New York, join hands-on volunteer opportunities, and support fundraising events that fuel on-the-ground action.

Summer begins with the choices we make now. Stay involved by visiting Save the Sound’s website and joining its email action network at savethesound.org/subscribe.

Connecticut Land Conservation Council
Land Conservation Conference March 21
You’re invited to the 2026 Connecticut Land Conservation Conference! Join Connecticut Land Conservation Council and 600+ of its closest friends and allies for Connecticut’s premier land conservation gathering. The 42nd annual conference will take place on Saturday, March 21, 2026, at Wesleyan University.

Look forward to informative and inspiring workshops led by experts from across the land conservation landscape. Dive deep into discussions, learn from your peers, make new connections, and contribute to the ever-evolving dialogue on preserving Connecticut’s natural beauty. Whether you’re interested in protecting biodiversity and wildlife, land stewardship for climate resilience, community-centered conservation, accessing funding and technical assistance, or just want to spend time with great people, there’s something for everyone.

Discover more about the conference, connect with CLCC, and find your local land trust by visiting linktr.ee/CT_Conservation.

Audubon Vermont
Get a Taste of Fresh Maple Syrup!
Come celebrate the maple sugaring season at Green Mountain Audubon Center! This year’s Sugar on Snow Parties will be held on Saturday and Sunday, March 21 and 22, 2026, from 11 a.m.–4 p.m., at Audubon Vermont’s sugarhouse in Huntington, Vermont.

Come tour Audubon Vermont’s Bird-Friendly Sugarbush, see how maple syrup is made, and get a taste for yourself. Learn about the ways sugarmakers can create quality bird habitat in their sugarbushes. All ages are welcome, and programs are fun for the whole family! The events are free of charge. Sugar on snow and maple syrup will be available for purchase. You can learn more by visiting vt.audubon.org.