Incorporated 1685 / population 29089 (as of 2005), Branford is thirteen miles east of New Haven and the second town along the Shoreline Greenway trail as it makes its way to Hammonasset. The plan is for Branford to have 8.9 miles of trail designated as Shoreline Greenway.
Happenings this month
Happy Holidays to all!
December 26 10am – First Annual Holiday Nature Walk
If your children spent Christmas playing inside with their new toys, eating candy, cookies, and all kinds of sweets, let’s get those children outside and burn up some energy! The Shoreline Greenway Trail will hold its first annual Holiday Nature Walk at its trail on the town’s Tabor property on Wednesday, December 26. We’ll walk by Chet’s Pond, see ducks and perhaps swans and other birds, and tracks of other wild animals such as deer and wild turkeys. The walk will be led by Chet Blomquist, and will last approximately one and a half hours. Pets are welcome; children under 7 should be accompanied by an adult. We will meet at the Tabor Lutheran Church parking lot at 10:00.
Sequels
Summer and Fall were busy times for the Shoreline Greenway Trail in Branford!
[slideshow id=41]
In October, Branford hosted the Shoreline Greenway Trail’s First Saturday walk. It turned out to be a beautiful, summer-like day. From the trail, there were beautiful views of salt marshes and of the Thimble Islands beyond. The walk visited the Vedder property and saw the plaque honoring this teacher who donated land to the Land Trust. A great blue heron and several egrets were sighted while Pete Peterson told the group about the engineering and design of the trail section that runs parallel to Tilcon Road and Chet Blomquist provided historical information.
Chip Angle and John PaulsonHappy Volunteers from BranfordHappy Volunteers from Branford
Happy Volunteers from Branford
August 29 found trail maintenance volunteers conducting a work party on the Tabor section of the trail. The team was weeding the path and doing general cleanup to keep this temporary path open. Our thanks to the seven workers who showed up: Dave Stamp, Steve Zaehringer, Leo Cristofar, Chet Blomquis, Art Johnson, Tony Corso, and Sal Vergati.
Profile of the Month
We will resume profiles in 2013!
Trail Information
To date the following sections of Branford’s trail has been owner approved, and much of it is open to the public, though not SGT trail ready:
- 3600 ft – Tabor Property Drive to Pine Orchard Road
- 2400 ft – Pine Orchard Road to Young’s Pond Park
- 2100 ft – Young’s Pond Park to Blackstone Ave. (Rte. 146)
- 2000 ft – 146 Totoket Rd to Tilcon Drive
- 1000 ft – Tilcon Drive to Tilcon Parking Lot (next to RR tracks)
- 4224 ft – Tilcon Parking Lot to Stony Creek
Volunteering
There are many, many important tasks associated with the Shoreline Greenway Trail, which include:
- Building and maintaining trails
- Raising funds
- Increasing SGT membership
- Publicity
- Government Liaison
- Fiscal work
- Identifying and tagging trees along the trail.
If you would like to volunteer, call Co–chair Judith Miller at 203-481-3870 or click the Volunteer tab of this website.
We’d love to have you on board!
Branford Team Meetings
All those who wish to promote the trail in Branford are welcome to join us at 7:00 p.m. on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at the Community House on the corner of Church and Prospect.
Branford Team Contact Information
Co Chairs: Chet Blomquist (203-488-5640; chetandtheboys@sbcglobal.net) and Judy Miller (203-481-3870; j.miller@snet.net)
Trail Development: Jack Wood (woodbythesea@sbcglobal.net) and Pete Peterson (evapete@sbcglobal.net)
Web manager and publicity: Jo Zaehringer (jozringer@yahoo.com)
Grants and Project Manager: Peg Stamp (pegstamp@sbcglobal.net)
Local Points of Interest / Other Links
Branford Hikers – Geoffrey Smith 203-215-1175; isput@sbcglobal.net
Branford Land Trust – 26 School St., Branford 203-483-5263
James Blackstone Library – 758 Main St., Branford 203-488-1441