Middlesex County is one of the most under-collected areas in Connecticut, so this day-long collection trip will be particularly valuable. The county is rich in habitat diversity: it has 110 named hills and mountains; two rivers (Mattabesset and Connecticut) with associated floodplain forests, marshes, and beaches; upland forests; successional farmlands; and coastal habitats including brackish and salt marshes, sandy beaches, woodlands, and grasslands. The county contains at least 16 of the Critical Habitat types recognized by the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Sites that we plan to visit include Wangunk Meadows WMA, Meshomasic State Forest, Cockaponset State Forest, and The Preserve State Forest. Some sites may include forays off-trail in somewhat wet or steep terrain.
Leaders: Lisa Standley, NEBS Curator of Vascular Plants; Sarah Taylor, Scientific Collections Manager, University of Connecticut, G.S. Torrey Herbarium; Elizabeth Kneiper, NEBS Curator of Cryptogams.
Register here so leaders may be in touch with you about this trip