UConn Trail & Park Projects
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The University of Connecticut's forests are important resources for educational as well as recreational uses. In order to preserve these natural areas, while still encouraging public enjoyment of the the forest, members of the UConn Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) and the EcoHusky Student Group cooperate in efforts to improve trail signage and increase access and use of the parcels.
Click on the image above to view a map of the UConn forest parcels.
The goals of this initiatives are simple: The students created new signage in order to improve understanding of the University's forest resources and related conservation and management strategies. Also, their efforts will help to increase the safety of those individuals using the trail systems associated with the University forest lands.
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Our Progress To-Date:
The Fenton Tract
With support from the UConn Office of Environmental Policy, members of the UConn Chapter of the Soil & Water Conservation Society have designed and installed trailhead markers at the six most highly trafficked and easily accessible trailheads of the Fenton Tract of the UConn Forest. These markers provide informational signage that will improve awareness of the University’s forest resources and related conservation efforts, as well as enlarged trail maps to increase the safety of the trail system’s users. The students also make regular trips into the tract during the spring and fall semesters to repaint the markers along the trails. Ultimately, the group hopes to use GIS technology to update the current map of the trail system, which will then be published online to further increase public safety related to use of the UConn forest.
Above: volunteers help clear brush from a trail in the Hillside Environmental Education Park (HEEP) in preparation for the opening ceremony.
The Hillside Environmental Education Park (HEEP)
With support from the UConn Office of Environmental Policy, the Hillside Environmental Education Park (HEEP) opened during the fall of 2009. Members of the EcoHusky Student Group assist the University as needed with the maintanence of the park's trail system and signage, as well as lead group tours through the area. To learn more about the HEEP, which was developed from a unique land reuse project visit the landfill remediation project and Hillside Environmental Education Park webpage.
Above: a map depicting the then-proposed the Hillside Environmental Education Park (HEEP), including wetland loss as a result of contamination and wetland restoration through remediation efforts. The HEEP is now open to the public for use.
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Page last updated 03/26/09. MNR.
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