News

On September 12, CLCC and Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust collaborated with Latino Outdoors CT to host a Bird Hike for Latino Conservation Week at Flanders’ Whittemore Sanctuary in Woodbury. The event brought together 18 participants, including youth from the Afro-Caribbean Cultural Center (ACCC), for a morning of birding, nature exploration, and community connection. This event was supported with funding from the Connecticut Community Foundation.

Latino Conservation Week is a nationwide celebration that recognizes and highlights the deep and lasting connections between Latino communities and the outdoors. In keeping with that spirit, the hike was designed to create a welcoming opportunity for participants to explore a local conserved property, learn about the plants and wildlife that call it home, and enjoy time together outside.

Participants followed Vanessa Daye (CLCC) and Julia Meurice (Flanders) on a two-mile intermediate trail through Whittemore Sanctuary, exploring its woodlands, streams, ponds, and wetlands. Julia provided printed maps for everyone to use as we navigated three trails to hike towards a Bird Blind. Along the way, we encountered a variety of wildlife and natural features, including Canada Geese, frogs, a beaver lodge, and a Violet Webcap mushroom.

The beaver lodge offered an opportunity to talk about the important role beavers play in wetland ecosystems. Beavers are considered a keystone species because their dams and ponds can create habitat for many other species while also helping filter sediment and nutrients, store water, and support healthy wetlands.

We also paused to appreciate the Violet Webcap mushroom, one of the many fascinating organisms found throughout the sanctuary. The diversity of life at Whittemore was a reminder that conservation is not only about protecting land—it is also about creating opportunities for people to observe, learn about, and develop a connection with the biodiversity around them.

The event was about more than identifying birds. It was an opportunity to build relationships, spend time outdoors with community members, and make a conserved property feel accessible and welcoming. CLCC’s partnership with Flanders and community organizations such as ACCC and Latino Outdoors CT helps create opportunities for people who may not always have easy access to nature and conservation spaces.

And, of course, we ended the morning with empanadas, giving everyone a chance to gather, share food, and continue conversations after the hike.

Events like this remind us that conservation is also about community. When we create welcoming spaces for people to explore nature together, we strengthen connections—not only between people and the land, but among the people working together to care for it.