Earth Day Saturday, April 25th at New Morning Natural & Organic. At Middle Quarter Mall in Woodbury, from 11-4:00pm. All FREE: Food sampling, local wellness professionals, growers, producers and environmentalists offering neighbors the gifts of their time and talents.

New Morning is excited to announce its partnership with a newly formed alliance of four conservation organizations in Southbury and Woodbury: Audubon Center at the Bent of the River (Southbury); Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust (Woodbury); Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition (Southbury, Woodbury and Bethlehem) and Southbury Land Trust. 

From the Conservation Partners:
“Although our specific missions differ, we share many common goals. And, we recognize that we can do some things better in collaboration. As informative as the forums, workshops, walks, hikes, films and speakers have always been, we also agree there is no better showcase for our local environs than Earth Day. Working with John Pittari of New Morning, who, this year, celebrates 15 years of consistently bringing Earth Day awareness to the area, we came up with a series of events that we hope to grow in the future. We hope you enjoy our programs planned for Saturday, April 25th.  Each component highlights part of the natural world we try to protect.”

The day’s events included a variety of guided tours on Saturday morning, April 25th and a free evening musical concert at the tents where New Morning had its Earth Day 2009 from 11:00 AM until 4:00 PM.  More details are provided below.

Take a hike! Listen to music! Saturday, April 25th:
• Hike the Gateway to the Purchase: 9:00-10:30am. Bent of the River in Southbury. Park and meet at Bent of the River parking lot at 185 East Flat Hill Road. Join Leslie Kane and Ken Elkins at the Audubon Center at Bent of the River with Karen Huber and Regina Badura of the Southbury Land Trust for a walk of Audubon’s Tappe property – the Gateway to the Purchase. The Tappe Pasture was purchased in partnership between the National Audubon Society and the Southbury Land Trust as a step toward protection of farmland in Southbury. This special Earth Day hike of Audubon’s 30-acre agricultural property is an opportunity to visit and learn about a property rarely visited by the public. Our walk will take us along Transylvania Brook and through the open agricultural fields. Walk leaders will focus the history of the property and on the different plants and animals that depend on the open fields for survival. Bad weather will cancel this hike. Please call: 203.264.5098 for a cancellation message.

• In Search of Wild Things: Vernal Pools: 10:00am, Barn, Audubon at Bent of the River. Audubon Educator Jim Drennan will be exploring one of our numerous vernal pools for amphibians and insects that make up this most fascinating of habitats. Vernal pools are essential for species such as the spotted salamander and wood frog, two species in abundance at the Center. We are also very likely to see red-spotted newts and green frogs, two species that commonly use vernal pools for breeding. To register, please call Jim Drennan at (203) 264-5098 ext.306 or e-mail him at jdrennan@audubon.org 

• Farming Fever: 9am to 11am, Flanders North Barn, Flanders Road, in Woodbury: Flanders will take you on a popular exploratory hike around the farm to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of Flanders’ barnyard and gardens. The program will include a visit to the farm animals at the barn, including our chickens, sheep, rabbits, ponies and a donkey.  We’ll also tour the Museum of Rural Life & Antique Farm Tools, which serves as a springboard to educate individuals of all ages about the area’s rich agricultural history. Each young participant will have the opportunity to plant seeds and take home little gardens to watch grow. Register by calling Flanders at (203) 263 – 3711 x10 or emailing flanders@flandersnaturecenter.org.

• Tour of the Pomperaug, 9:00am, Bennett Park, Southbury, Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition: The Pomperaug River system is a complex mix of geology, water, sediment and biology. There are 30.4 miles of very changeable qualities of the major rivers within our watershed. Volunteers from the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition will conduct a guided tour at each of three locations where people can easily park.
1. Bennett Park in Southbury 9:00am: How sediment deposition has altered this segment of the river. 
2. The Hollow Park in Woodbury 10:00am: The tour continues to show the changing course of the river and erosion. 
3. North parking lot at 3 Rivers Park in Woodbury: View a USGS gauging station that measures real time river flow and precipitation.  Attendees are welcome at one or all three sites.

• Concert at Twilight! On Saturday evening at New Morning, the food tent closed at 4:00pm, and re-opened at 5:30pm as the Music Pavilion-featuring local and area musicians. “We have so much regional talent that doesn’t get a chance to be heard in a free, open air environment. We all hope this will become a new tradition at New Morning”, noted Arthur Milnor, Executive Director of Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust. Rain or shine. Featured performers: Folk singer Willie Nininger of Southbury, Geoff Kaufman of Mystic, an expert in sea shanties. Enjoy the traditional drumming group The Offbeats, and the PHS Guitar Guys.  For more information, please feel free to call any of our offices:

• Audubon Center at the Bent of the River: 203.264.5098
• Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust: 203 263 3711 x 10
• Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition: 203 267 1700
• Southbury Land Trust: 203 264 4441
• New Morning Natural & Organic: Stop in at the Store for maps of the Conservation Partners land. Call 203-263-0673, ext. 317, for exhibit and food sampling info.
Check back for updates and details closer to April 25th. Contact information about the Conservation Partners can be found here.