Joshua’s Trust was recently awarded a Climate-Smart Stewardship Grant from the Connecticut Land Conservation Council (CLCC). These funds will advance a restoration project at the Madeline Regan Preserve in Tolland focused on regenerating pitch pine and oak, removing invasive species, and increasing biodiversity in an area currently dominated by white pine. The aim is to open up the area to promote regeneration, potentially using prescribed burns to remove pine duff and create space for seedlings. This project is crucial for pitch pine, a species well-adapted to warmer and drier environments, which will make the site more resilient to climate change disturbances and less susceptible to southern pine beetle activity.
The funding has already allowed Joshua’s Trust to upgrade our new tractor with a grapple bucket that will make it easier to move wood & brush and remove invasive species. This new upgrade allows us to care for our properties and the flora and fauna that they host.
