Land Trust receives grant to restore East Kent Hamlet Preserve

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KENT, Conn.—The Kent Land Trust (KLT) was among eight land trusts that received grants from the Connecticut Land Conservation Council through the Climate Smart Farming Agriculture and Forestry program.

A total of $175,000 was disbursed.

KLT will use its grant to restore early successional habitat in the East Kent Hamlet Nature Preserve.

KLT was first awarded a planning grant to begin this project, working last summer with field botanist Heather Liljengren of LocalLand Consulting to create a restoration plan for the meadow at the center of East Kent Hamlet Nature Preserve.

The new grant provides funding to continue working with LocalLand Consulting to carry out the restoration plan over the next three years.

KLT will additionally partner with Sarah Lang of Conundrum Farm to grow plugs using ecotypic seeds harvested on KLT’s nearby preserves.

The goal in year one is a significant reduction in invasive woody and perennial species. Signage will be installed within the meadow to explain the work being done. Cleared areas will be replanted with ecotypic seeds/plugs and monitored for health and against the return of invasive species. 

Year two will be dedicated to carrying out a planting plan with measurable goals such as having at least three different species flowering throughout each season, creating a mowing regime to maintain early successional habitat, and planting shrubs that create habitat and forage for wildlife while softening forest transition edge, among others. 

KLT will create a spur trail to allow visitors to observe the habitat and the wildlife that call it home, from a vantage point in the heart of the meadow. 

Year three will see another round of brush removal, spur trail maintenance, and clearing of invasive species, followed by a final planting and seeding in the spring.

KLT will close out the grant term by monitoring and surveying seeded or cleared sections.

Throughout the project KLT will host volunteer stewardship workdays, giving the public an opportunity to engage with and learn from the restoration.

Two such events are planned for 2025: an invasive species removal workday Saturday, May 17, and a seed foraging workshop on Saturday, Oct. 18.

KLT welcomes volunteer contributions of species’ data through a dedicated eBird hotspot and iNaturalist project.

KLT envisions the East Kent Hamlet Nature Preserve meadow as a sanctuary for wildlife and native plant species, as well as for all those who spend time there, whether volunteering for KLT or simply hiking through.