Steve Nelson to be honored as Steward of the Year by the Farmington Land Trust at Annual Meeting, April 11th.

The Farmington Land Trust will honor Steve Nelson as Steward of the Year at our 42nd Annual Meeting next Thursday, April 11th. Steve and his wife Diane have been residents of Farmington for many years and he has been a steward for 3 years.... The Farmington Land Trust maintains nearly 300 acres of open space, all of it donated by town residents who realized the value of open space and the impact it has on wildlife and the character of Farmington. It is the responsibility of the FLT to maintain the properties as the donors expect. It is a lot of work. Each parcel has a steward assigned to it. It is not the steward’s responsibility to mow the parcel, maintain the trails or single handedly beat back the invasives but just to monitor the parcel by doing an inspection and submitting a report to inform the office of any encroachments, tree falls or other major impacts. But a few of our stewards go way beyond the annual inspection. Ever since the October 2011 storm that destroyed or damaged so many trees we have had many occasions to call for volunteers to help clear or cut damaged or fallen trees that were posing dangers or blocking trails on a number of our properties. One steward in particular has responded over and over to these clarion calls. In addition to maintaining the trail on our most used property, the Nancy Conklin trail on the Cowles parcel in the Farmington Meadow, he has volunteered on numerous occasions, cutting up dozens of downed trees and fallen branches that were blocking access to some of our most scenic properties. His help has been invaluable. For more information on our Annual Meeting or about the Farmington Land Trust, contact our office by phone: (860)674-8545 or email: farmingtonland.trust@snet.net. www.farmingtonlandtrust.org and look for us on Facebook!