Wild About Lebanon
The Upper Valley Land Trust, the City of Lebanon and the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce are teaming up to bring back a popular program that celebrates the City’s natural assets. UVLT President Jeanie McIntyre says, Lebanon is a thriving small city with a big outdoors. Wild About Lebanon puts the spotlight on what makes the City so special.
The program’s roots go back fifteen years. In 2003, volunteer Nicole Cormen initiated a program of outdoor events around Lebanon, NH. Her goal was to acquaint people with Lebanon’s beautiful and varied conserved public lands. She created Wild About Lebanon as a way to showcase the importance of open space, and make sure that all Lebanon residents had the opportunity to visit these properties and learn about the natural world right outside their doors.
Nicole Cormen
Nicole Cormen’s service to the City started as a Park Ranger and grew to include long stints on the Conservation Commission and the City Council. She was a tireless activist for conserved and wild land in Lebanon. She was honored as the 2015 Citizen of the Year by the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce.
McIntyre says the partners are joining to revitalize the program Cormen started, as a tribute to Nicole’s memory and also as an ongoing testament to the accomplishments a single volunteer can make in their community. Also, says, Mark Goodwin, who works in the City’s Planning Department, Nicole just loved being outdoors. We hope to spread some of that joy.
This season of Wild About Lebanon kicked off with a day of cross country skiing and snowshoeing at the privately owned and conserved Balestra Farm on Stevens Road. The City of Lebanon Parks Department groomed the trails for us and we were met with a stunning March day that was enjoyed by all. We celebrated Earth Day with our annual walk at Starr Hill to celebrate the life and conservation work of Laurel Letter who worked so hard to make sure that Starr Hill would be preserved for her neighborhood as open space. May 5th we hosted Jeff MacQueen of Mascoma Audubon for an early morning bird walk through conserved property along the Mascoma Lake and River.
Wilds About Lebanon Celebration in the barn at Balestra Farm
There are many more Wild About Lebanon outings planned for this year including hikes, picnics, and more. Please check out the Wild About Lebanon calendar for all the details.
Hikers on the Earth Day Starr Hill Hike
The 2018 Wild About Lebanon series will showcase a variety of City owned and privately owned land within the city limits. We hope to offer a wide range of activities for everyone from children to the elderly. We are also still looking for volunteers to help plan and lead events. If interested, please contact Alison Marchione at alison.marchione@uvlt.org or (603) 643-6626.
We hope to see you out there!
