Founded in 1965 in order to preserve Redding’s natural heritage of open space, the Redding Land Trust today holds, in outright gifts or in conservation easements, some 1,600 acres of meadows and woodlands, saved forever from the bulldozer. Preserved properties range from a few acres to large tracts of 100 acres or more. These, along with major tracts purchased by the Town and the presence of Putnam and Huntington State Parks, make Redding a unique green oasis amid surrounding towns.
There are over 60 miles of Trails in the Town of Redding. Maintained by the Trust and the Town’s Conservation Commission, the trails are mapped and described in a book that is a must-have for every family in Redding – The Book of Trails IV, published by the Land Trust in a new edition in 2005 and available for $10 a copy at Town Hall, the Mark Twain Library and the Community Center.
One of the earliest land trusts in the state of Connecticut, the Redding Land Trust has served as a model for the land trust movement, not only promoting methods for acquiring and safeguarding land but also serving to educate the public about the benefits of open fields and woods, pure water and air, and the protection of native plants and creatures. An award-winning 20-minute documentary that tells Redding’s open space story, A Passion for Place: Redding’s Race for Open Space, produced by the Trust in honor of its 35th anniversary, is also available in either a video or DVD format for $5 at the same places where the Trails Book is sold.
Dependent on membership fees and donations from friends and supporters for its work, the Redding Land Trust is an organization that each year appeals to each household in Redding to join the Trust for an annual fee of $5 per family. Members receive a free DVD of A Passion for Place and are invited each March to the Trust’s annual meeting where noted speakers are featured.
Redding Land Trust: Board of Trustees
Mary Anne Guitar, President
Eugene Connolly, Vice-President
Henry Merritt, Vice-President
David Brooks, Treasurer
Jane M. Ross, Secretary
Charles Couch
Emily d’Aulaire
Joan Ensor
Laurie Heiss
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