Spring Scenes along the Northwest Passage

Spring is a great time to explore and work on trails. The wildflowers & shrubs are in bloom & there's a lot of wildlife to be seen if you just pause a bit & look around. Here's a native azalea that's blooming just off Independence Drive. We've been working throughout the winter and spring to get our new Northwest Passage trail open for National Trails Day, and it's almost here.

We have two work parties scheduled for this month and we hope you can join us this Saturday at 8:30 on Constitution Blvd. North near the entrance to Summerfield. These are work parties that are good for all ages. If you don't have tools just come & we'll hook you up.

Stepping stones were placed in one wet spot to make the footing easier. We've also been cutting brush, raking, removing trash, filing in holes, building bridges, mowing, etc. All with a small crew, so any & all help is welcome. It's fun and rewarding to see everything starting to really come together. This area is packed with song birds and wildlife on many occasions, and you'll only experience them by walking along the trail.

Here's some of the garbage that we hauled out of the open space for Clean Sweep. Over 57 groups or individuals participated to make Shelton a better place to live & work. Visit the Clean Sweep website for photos of them in action. We got the worst of it, but there's still a bit more junk in there so anybody feel free to pitch in and pick some of it up. It would be really good if some of the neighbors along Wellington Court stopped dumping their yard waste in the park along the trail.Here's one of the views along the trail from a little earlier in the year. There are a lot of surprising pretty views that can only be fully appreciated from using the trail.

Here's another view along Independence Drive earlier in the Spring. The Northwest Passage will link up a lot of neighborhoods and sidewalks so people can enjoy a shorter or longer walk through some scenic areas. And no, the paving crew was not drinking when the sidewalk was put in. That's what happens when you turn a landscape architect loose, but it's a still a pleasant walk.

So come out and join us this Saturday if you can & help build the Northwest Passage.

There is also a great group of scouts working the next couple of weekends on improving the Dominick Trail if anyone would like to help (see previous blog post). We also have a guided hike scheduled on May 15th at 2:00 at the Abby Wright parking lot on Nells Rock Road that should be a lot of fun. See the events calendar for more details.

And there are FOUR Shelton events this year for National Trails Day on June 5th. There will be more information, but you can also see a brochure on various events around the state on the Connecticut Forest & Parks Association website that was just updated.