Bethel Land Trust

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Get Outside

Visit our preserves.

Protecting land and natural resources in Bethel, CT, has been the cornerstone of Bethel Land Trust’s work since our founding 40+ years ago. Why protect land? The reasons are many:

Good for Our Ecology

Diffuses pollutants associated with storm runoff
Helps regulate climate and prevent the local heat island effect during summer.
Conserves habitat for multiple flora and fauna species.
Provides corridors for animals to safely migrate through.

Good for Our Community

Increases property values, augmenting municipal tax revenue and building homeowner wealth.
Reduces flooding.
Purifies water and protects aquifers and reservoirs.
Mitigates the stress on and the cost of municipal services.

Good for Our Health

Provides a natural environment for outdoor recreation and exercise.
Reduces noise pollution, which can disrupt sleep, increase stress and contribute to hypertension.
Reduces light pollution, which can disrupt sleep and increase stress.
Reduces ozone, a major trigger of asthma attacks.
Preserves farmland, which provides fresh, local produce.

Featured Preserves

Wolfpit Preserve
2023 brings a new 4.7-acre acquisition thanks to the cooperation of its previous landowners, Richard and...

Skyedge Preserve
Skyedge was donated by Target Corporation in Bethel in 2004. It is 3 acres of mixed meadow and...

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Mike’s Pond
Donated by James MacNicholl in 2006. A short, flat trail crosses a small brook to an area between 2 ponds on 1.5...

Janet P. Miller Preserve
Donated by John F. Miller in 2013. 10 acres It shares a parking lot with the Wolf Pits Preserve. Has...

Ivy Island
Ivy Island is a landlocked 4.7-acre preserve donated by Dolores Walter in 1996. The preserve indeed is an...

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Boardwalk on the Enchanted Trail
The Enchanted Trail stretches across Wolfpit Preserve, the Bethel Educational Park, Boardwalk, and...

When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.

Aldo Leopold, Author, Scientist & Conservationist

Take good care.

Enjoying Bethel’s beautiful nature preserves comes with a small price: appreciating the land as our own and doing our part to protect its native habitat for future generations.