Fairfield Magazine reprint with permission May/June 2008written by Brita Belli
There is a stillness found in this path through the woods. It's not too far from the bustle of the "real world"; on one side, there are palatial homes, with groomed lawns and pruned bushes, and off in the distance, one can hear the hum of traffic on the Merritt Parkway. But here, in this patch of woods, which leads through a field of wildflowers, past a stone wall, and into the cool comfort of more tree trunks, moss, and branches, something important is happening, and it's called preservation.
Walking around the 14 acres of the Aspetuck Land Trust that begins in one of Fairfield's most exclusive neighborhoods, one feels a connection with the natural world and with the diverse landscape that is part of this town's scenic charm. It took landowners with an understanding of the importance of preservation to keep this land from development, and the fight to preserve Fairfield is far from over.
"We preserve land for three primary reasons," says Bruce LePage, executive director of the Aspetuck Land Trust. "Passive recreation opportunities (a lot of people walk their dogs or cross-country ski); then we preserve for animal habitat (recently I saw a pair of red faxes jumping over the stone wall on the property-they are making a comeback); finally, we preserve land to preserve a town's rural characteristics and scenic views."
It's thanks to land preservation that Southport and other parts of Fairfield maintain some part of their rural character, their open farmland, historic homes, reed-covered wetlands, and corners of woods, even as the town succumbs to countless condo developments, mansions, and retail outlets...
Walking around the 14 acres of the Aspetuck Land Trust that begins in one of Fairfield's most exclusive neighborhoods, one feels a connection with the natural world and with the diverse landscape that is part of this town's scenic charm. It took landowners with an understanding of the importance of preservation to keep this land from development, and the fight to preserve Fairfield is far from over.
"We preserve land for three primary reasons," says Bruce LePage, executive director of the Aspetuck Land Trust. "Passive recreation opportunities (a lot of people walk their dogs or cross-country ski); then we preserve for animal habitat (recently I saw a pair of red faxes jumping over the stone wall on the property-they are making a comeback); finally, we preserve land to preserve a town's rural characteristics and scenic views."
It's thanks to land preservation that Southport and other parts of Fairfield maintain some part of their rural character, their open farmland, historic homes, reed-covered wetlands, and corners of woods, even as the town succumbs to countless condo developments, mansions, and retail outlets...
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