Category: GOSA In-Depth

The Merritt Family Forest–WITH NEW MATERIAL

The Merritt Family Forest (TMFF) is a 76 acre wooded open space property sloping eastward from near the summit of Fort Hill down along Route 1 to Fishtown Road–a distance of about one mile. The main entrance is located along Fishtown Road, about 400 feet south of Route 1 (see map), where an historic bridge, [...]

Monday January 18th, 2010 in GOSA In-Depth | 2 Comments »

GOSA President’s Annual Report–2009

  GROTON — The following report by GOSA President Joan Smith was read at the Oct. 15, 2009, annual membership meeting by Sidney Van Zandt, vice president: I am sorry to miss this important meeting and the opportunity to talk with you in person. Regrettably, I was not able to change an itinerary that had [...]

GOSA Director Fairgrieve Urges Action On Open Space Plan For Groton

GROTON — GOSA Director Edith Fairgrieve has urged town officials to give more priority to developing a plan for protecting remaining open space in the town. She told a meeting of the Committee of Chairpersons Nov. 29, 2007, that the topic largely is confined to the Conservation Commission. Michael J. Murphy, director of the Office [...]

Thursday November 29th, 2007 in Environmental Impact, GOSA In-Depth | No Comments »

Four Pioneers In Groton Conservation

  (l. to r.) Edith Fairgrieve, Priscilla Pratt, Sidney Van Zandt and Omar Allvord, at the GOSA annual meeting Oct. 12, 2006, in the Latham Chester Store, Noank, where they were honored for pioneering contributions to land conservation in Groton.   Priscilla W. Pratt is one of the two GOSA Founders who still sit on the [...]

Thursday October 12th, 2006 in GOSA In-Depth | No Comments »

Haley Farm: A History

The Saving of the Haley Farm as a State Park The Haley Farm is situated in the Town of Groton, Connecticut, to the east of Poquonnock Bridge and west of Noank. It was part of Governor John Winthrop the Younger’s original plantation known as Winthrop’s Neck, which included what is now Bluff Point, most of Poquonnock [...]

Saturday January 1st, 2000 in GOSA In-Depth | 1 Comment »

Tributes to Priscilla Pratt

Priscilla–October 2008 This page is devoted to memories of Priscilla Pratt and tributes to her inspired leadership of GOSA, which ended with her death June 15, 2009. The first three pieces are by GOSA directors. The fourth is by John Wirzbicki, a former Groton Town Council member who writes the CTBlueBlog. – – – - [...]

Saturday January 1st, 2000 in GOSA In-Depth | No Comments »

Sheep Farm Briefing/Donations

Thanks to you, eight foundations and many others, we raised the funds and purchased the Sheep Farm on December 14, 2010!  GOSA was awarded a $534,300 CT DEP Open Space Grant and an $82,200 CT DEP Long Island Sound Grant. We hosted the special award ceremony, led by former Governor Jodi Rell.  We have since [...]

Saturday January 1st, 2000 in GOSA In-Depth | No Comments »

Watrous Property: Biology and Beauty

UPPER ECCLESTON BROOK WATERSHED-ECOSYSTEM Proposed Site of “Four Winds at Mystic” Application by Mystic Active Adult, LLC (Ron Bonvie) Existing Conditions by Whitney Adams, Groton, CT Plant Scientist Independent Concerned Citizen Fall 2005 Introduction by: Sigrun Gadwa, MS, PWS Ecologist and Registered Soil Scientist Carya Ecological Services, LLC Cheshire, CT 06410 January 22, 2006   [...]

Saturday January 1st, 2000 in GOSA In-Depth | No Comments »

Haley Farm and Bluff Point: A Personal Reminiscence

By Sidney F. Van Zandt [This speech was written by Mrs. Van Zandt, one of the founders and the first president of GOSA, for the annual meeting Oct. 8, 2002, at which Priscilla Pratt, the current GOSA president, and her late husband, Charles N. Pratt, were honored for 40 years of untiring dedication to saving [...]

Saturday January 1st, 2000 in GOSA In-Depth | No Comments »