Seymour Land Trust Accomplishments

The Seymour Land Trust strongly believes it is important to provide residents of our community with educational, entertaining, exciting and unique programs. We are a very pro active land trust and are very receptive to new ideas. Our goal is to enhance the quality of life in the community in which we live by not only preserving our natural resources but by utilizing them as well.

Too many children consider television and computer games as their primary source of entertainment. We strive to expose them to "fun" activities and merge that with nature. The following is a synopsis of our activities and events.

The year starts during the winter months. We provide weekly self-defense classes at our Henry HamelEnvironmental Building at Legion Pool. Randy Stone, an accomplished instructor and black belt, provides these free classes. You must be a Land Trust member to enroll in this program. Our goal is to provide basic self-defense tools so that if you are walking, jogging, or just shopping and a threatening situation arises, you will be better trained to address the potential threat.

When the weather permits, parents and children enjoy sledding at Chatfield Park. We open our building and invite the public to sit in front of our warm fireplace and enjoy some free cookies and hot chocolate. Oxford Paint and Hardware sponsors these free refreshments. Volunteers are always needed to assist with these efforts. The more volunteers we have, the more often we can offer this benefit.

Our annual membership drive will occur in the first quarter of 2007. Funds raised will be applied toward the new addition to the Environmental Building. Our programs have been so successful that we need additional space for storage and meetings.

The spring brings many activities. Fishing season at Legion Pool will start April 1. We offer one of the best trout fishing facilities in the State. It is stocked with rainbow, tiger, brown, brook and golden trout. Some trout are almost 30 inches in length. It is strictly "catch and release" fishing and you must be a Land Trust member to fish there.

You may also bring a quarter and feed the ducks and trout, which are in abundance. There is a fish food machine at Legion Pool and the fish will actually leap out of the water and splash you, so be prepared to get wet if you stand too close to the water. We also sponsor our annual spectacular fishing bonanza, which is one of the most comprehensive fishing programs in the State. We have a two-day event that includes a safety and education program and several fishing modules for special needs individuals and children from the community. We give fishing equipment to children who cannot afford to purchase it. We have hundreds of prizes and trophies for the participants and you do not have to be a Land Trust member or a Seymour resident to participate in this event.

We also work with youth groups. There have been seven Boy Scouts who have completed their Eagle Scout projects with Land Trust programs. There are always many projects available, such as creating or mapping trails on our land. Our most recent Eagle Scout candidate was Billy Stockmal. In 2006 he designed and created a rugged nature trail that connects Davis Road with Fountain Lake Road. It is a beautiful trail through heavily wooded terrain.

The Land Trust also sponsors guest speakers on a regular basis throughout the year. We utilize experts on a wide range of topics, such as a history of the CT Leather Man to experts on bluebirds. The speakers are always entertaining and informative. These sessions are open to the public. The Land Trust also assists a Lifetime member, Joseph Swinik, with his very successful bluebird program. Joe has successfully fledged thousands of bluebirds throughout the lower Naugatuck Valley. He is deeply committed to this program and spends countless hours cultivating the bluebirds.

Our new Joseph Nesteriak Memorial Nature Trail is an exciting and unique trail. It is handicap-accessible and is a beautiful easy trail that also connects to the new paved track at Chatfield Park. The track is also linked to Legion Pool. People may now walk or jog at any one or all three of these parcels of land, Legion Pool, Chatfield Park, or the Nesteriak Nature Trail.

Native trees and bushes will be planted along this trail system to further compliment the abundant vegetation. It will be an excellent educational trail because we will place plaques near the various types of vegetation for plant identification. Too many youngsters do not know the difference between a red cedar tree and a white pine tree.

The new Veterans Park will be landscaped shortly. It currently has a new gazebo. Our plans are to raze the old trailer and create a park for handicapped and special needs individuals.

A new addition is also being designed for our Henry Hamel Environmental Building and it will be constructed during the spring of 2007. Additional storage and meeting capacity is desperately needed. The Land Trust recently purchased a 2005 Volvo compact excavator. This compliments the 2005 Polaris 6x6 Ranger ATV and our small backhoe. Volunteers are needed to assist with our exciting construction projects.

At the end of each school year, the Seymour Land Trust presents two high school seniors with a $500 scholarship. The scholarship funds are provided by an anonymous donor. The monies are awarded to students who either attend Seymour High School or any other high school, but they must be residents of Seymour and show an interest in the environment. The 2006 awards went to Patrick Stanek, who helped with several projects at Legion Pool, and to Peter Lynch, who was a leader at the annual fishing rodeo. Scholarship requests can be made to the Land Trust. They will then be forwarded to the scholarship committee.

The summer months are very active. Thousands of people enjoy the peace and tranquility of our parks and trails, especially Legion Pool. In this park there is an actual replica of the covered bridge that served as a main artery for Rt. 67. The covered bridge transversed the Naugatuck River and our replica bridge transverses Trout Brook. This is a unique park that hosts many weddings and our building is utilized year-round for family functions. You must be a Land Trust member to use the facility. A $150 donation is required, which helps defray the costs of operating the building.

Fall is always a beautiful time of the year. The Land Trust hosts its largest public program during October. Our Halloween Haunted Trail Festival has included pumpkin painting, hay rides, a maze, moon bouncing, refreshments, special needs activities and, of course, the feature event is our haunted trail. Individuals may have their own scene just by contacting the Land Trust several weeks prior to this event.

The Joseph Nesteriak Nature Trail, which winds through the thick woods and swamp near Chatfield Park, is transformed into a scary experience. There is a nominal fee for admission in order to cover some of our expenses. This program provides the youth with constructive activities for the Halloween experience.

Christmas is a special time of the year. The Land Trust sponsors a wonderful program at Legion Pool. Free hot chocolate and cookies are served while people wait to see Santa. A spectacular fireworks display is used so Rudolph knows where to land. Santa appears and invites the children to visit him in his workshop, which is in the Land Trust Environmental Building. They sit in front of the warm fireplace and Christmas tree and tell Santa their deepest thoughts and wishes. We always instruct the parents to bring their camera as lots of smiles will be captured.

The Land Trust continues to preserve open space. We are currently negotiating with a local developer and believe we will shortly be receiving 12 acres of beautiful land with a brook. We currently own two parcels of land, totaling 16 acres, in Ansonia because Ansonia does not have a Land Trust and 100 acres of land in Seymour. We have also been very instrumental with saving thousands of acres in Seymour, Ansonia, and Oxford. Much of this land was former water company property and will now be kept as open space forever.

The Seymour Land Trust received the Community Organization of the Year Award for 2006 from Oak Hill Corporation. This firm operates 80 group homes throughout Connecticut. This prestigious award was for our generous support of people with disabilities.

We are very proud of our accomplishments and hope you share our vision. We are very excited about the future and continue to develop programs that will benefit children, senior citizens, under-privileged children, youth groups, battered women, special needs individuals, and the general public. We continue to network with Scout groups and to develop trail systems on Land Trust and town properties. Our goal is to publish a book that will be called "Walks and Trails in Seymour." This project will utilize GPS equipment and will be an invaluable resource for residents in the community who enjoy the outdoors.

Many of our endeavors require financial assistance. We have been extremely fortunate to have support from local businesses, charitable foundations, and Land Trust members. Please refer to our web site for our list of major contributors.

Land Trust members truly believe we have and will continue to touch many lives in a very positive way. If you know of any individuals or groups who can benefit from any of our programs or resources, please contact us and we will do all we can to accommodate them. We have interacted with battered women's groups, special needs groups, nursing homes, schools, Scout groups, Police departments, hospice, and the general public. If we can bring a smile or laughter to just one person with each program, then we have succeeded. We are always receptive to new ideas and will welcome your input and participation. You just need a vision and some time to become a proud volunteer of the Seymour Land Trust.