Let’s Go

Franklin Land Trust
Welcome to our newest River Partner!
Every year, roughly 1,500 cyclists gather in Franklin County, Massachusetts, ready to take on one of the most demanding gravel rides in New England. They come from all over the country and the world for D2R2—the Deerfield Dirt Road Randonnée.

This August 22 D2R2 returns for its 21st year, with a new home at the Franklin County Fairgrounds in Greenfield, Massachusetts. Riders choose from routes ranging from 20 to 180 kilometers, all threading through the backroads, hills, and dirt roads of Franklin County. Beyond the ride, D2R2 offers a community waiting at the finish line. This year, the fairgrounds will be filled with vendors, great food, cold beverages, and the kind of like-minded people who thrive on challenge and understand why you’d spend a Saturday grinding up dirt roads.

Spots are going fast, so don’t wait! Register today at d2r2.franklinlandtrust.org.

Lyme Land Trust
Walk, Gaze at the Stars, and More
Lyme Land Trust in Lyme, Connecticut, offers outdoor activities for everyone! Each week board members and staff lead Tuesday Treks that differ in length and challenge. Monthly astronomy nights let you gaze at stars under clear, dark skies. If you enjoy photography, Imagining Lyme welcomes your nature photos to celebrate the area’s beauty. Teens can join the Tree Collective to learn about conservation and stewardship. You can also walk or attend programs with environmental experts to deepen your knowledge. Discover all of these opportunities and more at lymelandtrust.org.

Audubon Vermont
Hike, Picnic, Explore
Summer is a beautiful time to be outdoors in Vermont. The Green Mountain Audubon Center in Huntington is a great place to hike, picnic, explore, and connect with nature. Enjoy a leisurely stroll along the Huntington River, watch birds, or sit in the shade of a maple tree in the Bird-Friendly Sugarbush. The Green Mountain Audubon Center’s free public hiking trails wind through 255 acres of wetland, meadow, and forest habitats managed for birds and other wildlife. There are trails for every hiking ability! Plan your visit and learn about upcoming events at audubon.org/green-mountain. Come explore—all are welcome at Audubon!

Save the Sound
Protecting Your Summer Year-Round
What makes a successful summer? Clean water to drink and clean air to breathe; less trash underfoot under tiny toes at the beach; fish moving upstream to their spawning grounds—and onto your fishing line; and thriving forests to explore with friends and family.

Save the Sound works year-round to protect your summer.

Join Save the Sound in caring for the environment you value and enjoy. This summer Save the Sound invites you to take part in its annual Paddle for the Sound fundraiser, volunteer at cleanups of your local beaches and parks, and check out the latest water quality grades for your favorite swimming spot. Find it all—and protect YOUR summer—at SaveTheSound.org.

Great Meadows Conservation Trust
Popular Spots to Visit This Summer
Summer is the perfect time to enjoy a peaceful walk at some of Great Meadows Conservation Trust’s parcels in Glastonbury, Wethersfield, and Rocky Hill, Connecticut. Many enjoy the trail at the Wood Parcel on Middletown Avenue in Wethersfield. A new accessible picnic table with a beautiful view overlooking the Fearful Swamp has been installed as part of an Eagle Scout project. It is the perfect place to sit and relax or read a book. There is a short trail at the DiPaola Parcel on North Meadow Lane in Rocky Hill that can be accessed from Goff Brook Road or from Quarry State Park. In Glastonbury, you can follow the Riverfront Trail from the Glastonbury Boathouse going south along the Connecticut River to Meadow Road. Turn left at Meadow Road and make your way to Main Street. This trail crosses some of GMCT’s newly purchased land in the South Glastonbury meadows. Find details at gmct.org and on its Facebook page.

Rockfall Foundation
Nominate Your Environmental Champion Today!
The Rockfall Foundation is seeking nominations for the 2026 Environmental Champion Awards. These awards honor individuals or groups in the Lower Connecticut River valley who have made significant contributions to the environment in the areas of preservation, conservation, restoration, or education.

Nominations may be made for the Tom ODell Distinguished Service Award, for lifelong accomplishments, or for the Certificates of Environmental Achievement Award, for impactful programs or projects. Nominees’ work must impact the Lower Connecticut River Valley or its towns (Chester, Clinton, Cromwell, Deep River, Durham, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Killingworth, Lyme, Middlefield, Middletown, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Portland, and Westbrook).

If you know a deserving individual or group, please submit a nomination! Let’s celebrate those shaping a sustainable future for our community. The deadline is July 30, 2026. For additional details and to download a nomination form, visit rockfallfoundation.org/environmental-awards.

Connecticut River Conservancy
Community Science Volunteering & Source to Sea Cleanup
Summer is a time for community science and riverside events up and down the Connecticut River watershed with Connecticut River Conservancy! Visit ctriver.org/get-involved for a listing of all seasonal opportunities.

Volunteers can help remove water chestnut (an aquatic invasive species) to restore clean water and healthy habitats, conduct sea lamprey nest surveys, or collect samples from the river to provide vital water quality monitoring data. You can also join or lead one of the 100+ groups throughout the Connecticut River watershed in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut as part of the 30th annual Source to Sea Cleanup to remove trash from our waterways. Group leader registration will open in early July, and the cleanup will be in September. Additional events are listed at ctriver.org/events. Sign up at ctriver.org/email to get updates in your inbox as new opportunities are listed. You can also contact CRC directly at CRC@ctriver.org or call 413-772-2020.

East Haddam Land Trust
A Season Full of Activities, Opportunities
This summer East Haddam Land Trust offers activities to stir both the body and mind, from bringing together readers of nature writings to those who enjoy invigorating hikes and paddles.

The public is always welcome to the “Words from the Woods” book circle on the third Monday of every month, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, East Haddam, Connecticut. The circle was recently awarded Connecticut Land Conservation Council’s “Excellence in Community Engagement Award” for building connections through shared writings about our natural world. Visit ehlt.org/book-circle.

On Connecticut Trails Day, June 7, EHLT will lead a hike in Sheepskin Hollow Preserve. On June 14, the public is invited for a walk through diverse habitats of 68-acre Rose Farm Reserve.

Paddlers can join a “Moonlight Paddle” on Upper Moodus Reservoir on the evening of June 27 and, in July, a paddle to Chapman Pond off the Connecticut River and downstream from Goodspeed Opera House. Another annual favorite is the Musical Bridges Concert & Homemade-Homegrown Raffle, August 24 on the Goodspeed Theater Lawn. For more information visit ehlt.org/calendar.

American Rivers
2025 Dam Removal Milestones
One hundred and one dams bite the dust! In early March American Rivers celebrated the work of conservation partners, cities, towns, and public agencies in 30 states that took down 101 unnecessary and often dangerous dams in 2025. This work opened over 4,800 miles of rivers that made fish happy and communities safer. Here in New England, Massachusetts led the nation in numbers of dams removed per state with 15 projects completed by year-end. Vermont, that brave little state, again outperformed others with nine dams removed, giving it the continued distinction of the most total dams removed as percentage of its total number of dams. Vermont has removed 81 dams so far! The organization dam removal leader in the Connecticut River watershed is the Connecticut River Conservancy which, since 2014, has removed 26 dams opening up hundreds of miles of habitat.

Want to see the national trends? Visit americanrivers.org. There are many inspiring stories about local communities and partners doing good work together!

Rivers Alliance of Connecticut
Mark National Rivers Month
Rivers Alliance of Connecticut believes rivers should be treated like national treasures—respected, protected, and preserved for generations to come. June is National Rivers Month—a perfect time to reconnect with the flowing heart of our landscapes.

Did you know that Connecticut is home to more than 5,000 miles of rivers and streams? That’s 5,000 miles of potential adventure, serenity, and discovery right in your own backyard. This summer, carve out some time to enjoy these remarkable waterways. Hike a trail that winds past a waterfall, paddle through quiet coves, or simply spread out a picnic by a shady stream and let the sound of rushing water clear your head.

Want to know more about your waters and how you can help keep our rivers clean and thriving? Dive into Rivers Alliance’s Resources page at www.riversalliance.org/resources.

Florence Griswold Museum
America 250
To celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States of America, the Florence Griswold Museum hosts Patchwork: Connecticut Artists Consider 250, a juried exhibition of contemporary art, on view June 27–November 8, 2026. The museum highlights its legacy as home to the Lyme Art Colony (1900–1937) by inviting today’s Connecticut-based artists to submit work that addresses themes of American identity and history over the country’s past 250 years.

A touchpoint of Patchwork is the museum’s Bicentennial Quilt. Crafted by Old Lyme quiltmakers in 1976, it features 24 patchwork blocks illustrating historic events, houses, key landmarks, and rural subjects in Lyme and Old Lyme. The quilt serves as an inspiration and metaphor for how history is patched together, preserved, and reinterpreted by each generation. The goal of Patchwork is to create community by bringing Connecticut artists together under these common themes. For more information visit flogris.org.

CT River Salmon Association
2025–2026 Salmon-in-Schools—30 Years!!!
Bring freshwater and saltwater ecosystems to LIFE for your students! Educate your students about the unique challenges that migratory fish encounter through the eyes of Atlantic salmon. Study the anadromous life cycle of a threatened and endangered species. Connecticut teachers are invited to participate in Salmon-in-Schools—a scientific and environmental learning project. Students participate in all phases, from rearing salmon eggs in the classroom to calculating the Development Index to stocking rivers. CRSA (Connecticut River Salmon Association) provides teacher orientation, materials, and support from fisheries biologists at the Connecticut DEEP.

The program begins with learning about the life cycle and challenges the fish encounter in both freshwater and saltwater ecosystems. It continues with incubating eggs in a chilled aquarium beginning in early January. The eggs hatch mid-February into alevin and then transition to unfed fry. Students take a field trip in late April to early May to stock out their unfed fry into a river with good salmon habitat while experiencing the river’s ecosystem.

To bring Salmon-in-Schools to your classroom, contact salmoninschools@ctriversalmon.org. For more information visit ctriversalmon.org.

Connecticut Land Conservation Council
Build Pathways to Nature with Your Community
Land conservation is for everyone. That’s why the Connecticut Land Conservation Council (CLCC) is launching Pathways to Nature, a community-centered initiative that aims to dismantle barriers to the outdoors by connecting local land trusts and communities through shared, inclusive outdoor experiences.

Whether you’re interested in a Bird & Hike or Herbal Forage walk, or inclined to organize a Citizen Science project with students or a Hike ’n Yap tailored for affinity groups, there is a place for your community. Pathways to Nature even provides transportation support to make it easier for everyone to access Connecticut’s preserves and parks.

CLCC is looking for community organizations and local experts—birders, herbalists, or historians who serve as Community Field Guides—to partner with land trusts and connect Connecticut’s residents with its natural spaces so that everyone feels a sense of belonging outdoors. Visit ctconservation.org to learn more, and contact vanessa@ctconservation.org to get started.

River COG
Summer Fun
The Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments (River COG) hopes that all have a wonderful time this summer enjoying the water and recreational resources that the lower Connecticut River region has to offer! Please remember to clean, drain, and dry your boat, trailer, and fishing and recreational gear after a visit to any waterbody to stop the spread of aquatic invasive species! For more information on the Army Corps Connecticut River Hydrilla Project please visit https://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Projects-Topics/Connecticut-River-Hydrilla/.

Kestrel Land Trust
Explore the Heart of the Valley in Massachusetts
In the heart of the Connecticut River valley in Massachusetts, there is so much to explore outdoors. Kestrel Land Trust conserves and cares for forests, farms, and riverways and works with communities to make public lands welcoming for everyone.

Whether you’re up for a short nature walk or a scenic, long-distance hike along the iconic Mount Holyoke Range, Kestrel’s new online “Explore the Valley” feature will help you find the trail that’s right for you. Choose from places like Kestrel’s Bright Water Bog Nature Retreat with its spectacular natural cranberry bog and whimsical sculpture meadow; the fully accessible trail at the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge; Anniversary Hill Park in Holyoke with its historic Scott Tower; or iconic routes along the New England National Scenic Trail. Plus, many more hidden gems that can provide a quiet escape from the summer crowds.

Visit kestreltrust.org/explore to find your next adventure!

Norcross Wildlife Foundation
You’re Invited to a Moth Ball and More
The Norcross Wildlife Foundation brings together scientific research, education, and community engagement to deepen understanding of ecological restoration and expand equitable access to nature. The foundation invites you to explore its trail network—open daily until dusk—and to take part in free public programs designed to connect people with the land and the science guiding its care.

From June through August, enjoy a range of seasonal offerings, including Mindfulness Yoga in nature, guided walks, and hands-on outdoor learning experiences for all ages. This summer, the foundation is especially excited to highlight its annual Open House on July 25, a vibrant community celebration featuring live music, art activities, intern research presentations, and the popular Moth Ball—an evening program using light and sheet setups to attract and observe a fascinating array of moth species. Learn more at NorcrossWildlife.org and follow them on Facebook and Instagram for updates.

Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center
Research Volunteers Essential
Conservation science initiatives at Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center (RTPEC) integrate rigorous research with public engagement to address local ecological challenges. Projects focus on coastal resilience through data-driven habitat protection strategies, monarch butterfly monitoring that supports migratory conservation, long-term studies of bird populations to track biodiversity trends, and annual firefly counts that provide insight into overall ecosystem health. Volunteer opportunities are central to this work, allowing community members to participate directly in the collection of field data.

These contributions are carefully validated and shared with national databases, ensuring that local observations strengthen large-scale scientific understanding and advance evidence-based conservation. Sign up to receive emails at ctaudubon.org/subscribe/ to learn about upcoming volunteer opportunities at RTPEC and ways to get involved.

Connecticut River Museum
The Famous Water Machine
Celebrate America’s 250th with the exhibition, The Famous Water Machine of Connecticut, on view through July 12, 2026. Learn about the history of the Turtle, a sub-marine vessel that was constructed in secret by David Bushnell and used during the Revolutionary War.

Visitors also can experience the beautiful weather on the water with a cruise aboard RiverQuest and Onrust. Enjoy a special Concert Underway on June 4 aboard RiverQuest performed by the museum’s 2026 Artist-In-Residence, Ben Cosgrove.

On view July 30 through October 11, 2026, visit the museum for Rhythm of the River, an exhibit that explores the musical heritage of the Connecticut River. Lastly, don’t miss out on the museum’s Summer Camp which runs from June to August for children ages 6 to 11.

Connecticut River Museum can’t wait to see you as we celebrate America’s 250th and connect visitors with the beauty of the Connecticut River. Visit ctrivermuseum.org for more information.