Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

TOWARD A CONTINUING LANDSCAPE A MASTER PLAN FOR THE VAN VLECK FARM SANCTUARY For the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust

By Rachel Bechhoefer, Lucie Martin, Sara Preston The Conway School of Landscape Design Winter 2009

Contents Project Summary

1

Section I: Introduction: History and Context An Artist, a Farm, and a Watershed Evolution of Flanders Nature Center and

Land Trust The Artist The Farm The Watershed The Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust Today Vision For the Future Goals of the Master Plan

Section II: Inventory and Analysis Site Overview Historic Structures and Program Hubs Vegetation and Wildlife Habitat Land Use and Soil Access and Circulation Zones of Use Analysis Development Suitability Analysis Detail of Flanders Preliminary Building Site Potential Building Sites/Criteria and Evaluation

4 6 8 10 12 14 16 17

21 25 31 35 37 39 41 43 45

Section III: Conceptual Design Alternatives A. Art is the Bridge B. Agriculture is the Link C. Habitat is Restored

51 53 55

Section 1V: Master Plan Design and Recommendations Preferred Alternative: Toward a Continuing Landscape Entry Experience

Gates, Gateways and Partitions

Wayfinding and Signs

Outdoor Lighting Ecological Development

Green Building

Parking and Stormwater Management Stone Walls Agriculture Land Management Trail Management Art Conclusion Resources References

58 62 63 67 68 70 72 74 75 76 77 79

Project Summary

“We want to maintain the rough and ready character that is rooted in our agricultural history. . .”

Bill Anthony Member, Flanders Board of Directors

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary is a working document that captures a vision of the Sanctuary and how that vision might be written on the landscape.

The continuing landscape is both a title and a concept. Preservation has the danger of rendering a landscape as a relic– a place that looks as it always has, but where the social and functional elements that created it have come to an end. The Flanders Nature and Land Trust’s mission for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary is not simply to preserve the landscape as if it were frozen in time, but to continue into the future the traditions that created the scenic landscape.

This master plan seeks to ensure that the Sanctuary maintains its connection to its roots as a working farm, providing the direction and tools to help the Sanctuary remain vital as a continuing landscape.

The 200-acre Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary, once the farm of the Nature Center’s founder, Natalie Van Vleck, is a mix of agricultural fields, forest, meadow, and wetlands laced with trails. The historical eighteenth-century house and barn, post and beam studio and sugar house, original barns, and stone walls snaking through the woods help create a pastoral landscape that belies the hustle and bustle of its twenty-first century use as the administrative and educational hub of the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust.

Section I: Project Summary

1

With the growth of its programs, Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust is faced with the limitations of the Sanctuary to meet future needs. As the stewards of the Sanctuary, the board and staff of the Nature Center and Land Trust have embarked on a strategic planning process to improve the facilities and programs that they offer to the community. To help them look to the future, the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust contacted the Conway School of Landscape Design (CSLD) to create a master plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary. The goal of the master plan, therefore, is to assist in this visioning process and to provide specific recommendations that when implemented, can help the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust fulfill their mission.

The CSLD design team met with stakeholders three times over the course of the three-month project. The first meeting, with staff, board members, and active volunteers, introduced the team to project goals and concerns. In the second meeting, the team gathered information from the wider Flanders’ community, including members and neighbors of the Sanctuary. In the third meeting, again with board members and staff, the team presented concepts and received feedback before moving into the final design stage.

The feedback provided the framework to make the master plan recommendations.

The master plan develops a preferred design for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary with a series of recommendations for improving visitor experience, modeling the highest standards in ecological and sustainable land management and building, and mitigating the impacts of development. It is important to understand that the recommendations are not contingent on a new building, though some specifically address the design and construction of a new building. While the preferred plan is designed to function as a whole with the new building, the recommendations can and should be implemented prior to construction to expediently meet the goals of the Nature Center.

Through the visioning and master planning process, the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust can reach their vision and

2

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

serve a vital function linking a rural history with a prosperous future.

By modeling the highest level of ecological and sustainable design and management, as well as offering programs in art, nature and agriculture, the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust can inspire new generations to become stewards of the land and move the community and the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary toward the vision of a continuing landscape.

Flanders programing provides the next generation the opportunity to learn about the place they live and to work together to protect it.

Section I

Introduction: History and Context

An Artist, a Farm, and a Watershed

Natalie Van Vleck,1933

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Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

The story of the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary is the story of an artist, a farm, and a watershed. The artist, Natalie Van Vleck, brought her art to the rural, agricultural town of Woodbury, Connecticut, in the 1920s. While she could have continued her life as an urban artist in a rural setting, she instead took up farming and worked her family’s farm fields that had been all but abandoned during her parents’ lives.

The transition from artist to farmer over the course of Natalie’s life shaped who she was, but transitions in the landscape and in the way of life that she valued influenced the artist to become a conservationist. Natalie saw drastic changes in the landscape of the Pomperaug River watershed, with the loss of farmland after World War II. She also lamented the changes in the Woodbury community that increasingly was losing its agricultural traditions. These losses came as more and more urbanites left the city for quieter, pastoral landscapes, bringing with them suburban housing developments. They loved the rural landscape, but had a different way of life that valued a different kind of work, not the labor of a farmer.

As farms and woodlands in the watershed were parceled off and developed for housing, the artist-farmer turned environmentalist founded the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust to help future generations to value the landscape and lifestyle that she valued so highly. What began as a 10-acre homestead, over the course of Natalie’s life became the 200-acre Van Vleck Farm and then became a sanctuary to protect in perpetuity what Natalie created.

The Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust is the current steward of that Sanctuary and continues to tell the story of the artist, the farm and the watershed. Loss of farmland and open space within the watershed continues, with suburban and commercial development disturbing wildlife, polluting streams, and compacting

once fertile soil.

As steward of this Sanctuary, the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust has the responsibility to tell the story of the artist and the farm. As steward of nearly 2000 acres of open space in and around the Van Vleck Farm, its contributions to the protection of the Pomperaug River Watershed are crucial.

East Meadow Brook runs through the Sanctuary.

View across pastures to one of the original barns at the Van Vleck Farm.

Section I: Introduction

5

Evolution of Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust

The original farmhouse built in 1786

natalie wins a turkey in a turkey shoot and

natalie’s parents buy the

(10 acres) 1926

parents purchase

farmhouse

begins turkey farming

natalie purchases south farm with

1935

75 acres south of church hill road

108 acres 1934

1949

1928

1942

natalie moves to woodbury and

natalie inherits the farm from her mother

builds the studio

1955 natalie turns her attention to sheep farming

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Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

new administration and education center constructed

20??

flanders nature center and land trust hires its

1st director,

pat christgau

1984

natalie establishes flanders nature center and land trust

1963

arthur milnor

manville kettle

becomes director and moves into

1st land trust property 1973

original farm house

1997

2002 1964 1st naturalist duncan mcdougal hired; trail house built

1981

new post and beam sugar

natalie passes away leaving the

house constructed

van vleck farm sanctuary to the flanders nature center and land trust

The Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary has evolved from a working farm to a bustling nature center that provides educational and recreational activities for Woodbury and surrounding communities.

Section I: Introduction

7

The Artist

Chickens by Natalie Van Vleck Collection of Flanders Nature Center

Still Life by Natalie Van Vleck Collection of Flanders Nature Center

8

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Natalie Van Vleck was trained in drawing, painting, and woodcutting at the Art Students League, in New York City, from 1919 to 1922.

She studied under Robert Henri, focusing on portrait and figure painting, still life, and nature studies. She drew inspiration from diverse artistic styles and disciplines, especially the pioneering art movements of the time, Cubism and the Arts and Crafts movement.

The Arts and Crafts movement proved to be an influence not just on Natalie’s art but on her lifestyle and aspirations. Reacting to increased mechanization and modernization, the Arts and Crafts proponents advocated a return to hand-wrought traditional crafts and the values of human labor.

Natalie’s mother came from the wealthy Macy family, and her parents, like many well-off New Yorkers, bought land in the country. In 1928, Natalie joined her parents at their farm in rural Woodbury, Connecticut. She built a studio and while she continued to paint and carve, the move influenced her style and subject matter.

Her paintings became more realistic, reflecting the new landscape and showing images of farm life.

She began actively farming in the 1930s, when she won a turkey in a shooting competition and began raising Bourbon Red turkeys. After her mother’s death in 1942, Natalie inherited the farm, which by then encompassed 128 acres of adjoining parcels. She bought an additional neighboring farm, increasing the size of the Van Vleck Farm to the current 200 acres. In 1955 Natalie expanded the emphasis of the farm to include prizewinning Hampshire sheep. Her flock of 200 was known as one of the best east of the Mississippi River.

As she grew older, Natalie became increasingly concerned with the future of her farm and with the preservation of agricultural land. After consulting with members of the Audubon Society and Soil Conservation Service, she founded the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust in 1963. Natalie was heavily involved in shaping the

Nature Center. She used her wood carving shop to make signs to announce that the public was now welcome at the Farm and was involved in hiring the first staff. She continued to be an integral part of the Nature Center until her death in 1981 when she bequeathed her 200-acre farm to the Nature Center as the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary.

Natalie had been drawn from a life of art in the city she grew up in to a new way of life on the land. It was a way of life that she grew to love, and out of that love she came to protect what she valued so highly. Even as Natalie put away her paintbrush to become a farmer and a conservationist, she always remained an artist at heart. “She spent the final fifty years of her life creating a living work of art for everyone to enjoy” (P. H. Falk, from Natalie Van Vleck, A Life in Art and Nature).

“She is as expert with the saw as with the brush, and as handy with her collection of chisels as the ordinary girl is with the vanity case.” (Unknown reporter quoted by Peter Hastings Falk)

Sign designed by Natalie advertising her Bourbon Red Turkeys

Natalie with her Hampshire Sheep Natalie Van Vleck with her winning ribbons for the sheep and turkeys she raised.

Section I: Introduction

9

The Farm “The essence of what we were, and what we are, our cultural memory, is tied up with farming.”

Historian Walter Woodward, in an interview for the Working the Land Project

Decline in Connecticut Farms

Woodbury Agricultural Land 20

30,000

16.5 Percent

Number of Farms

22,000 20,000

10,000

15.9

15.5

15.1

1995

2002

2006

10

4,200 0

0 1944

2008

1985

From the end of World War II until 2006, the number of farms in Connecticut had decreased from 22,000 to 4,200. In Woodbury, as of 2006 only 15.1% of the town was agricultural land and 60% forested.

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Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

The changes in the land that Natalie saw in Woodbury over her lifetime paralleled changes that were taking place across the state and the region. At the time of Natalie’s move to the Van Vleck Farm, agriculture was in decline across Connecticut, a trend that continues today, with Connecticut leading the nation in percent loss of agricultural land (Working the Land).

During most of the twentieth-century, population growth and the exodus of the urban wealthy to the country led to increasing development. This resulted in a decline in the number of farms and in the amount of land being farmed. Loss of agricultural traditions and the degradation of natural resources were trends that Natalie resisted on her farm and in her community.

Yet the changes in Natalie’s time were not the first changes in land use that profoundly altered the landscape. When the first European settlers came to the Woodbury area in the mid seventeenth-century, they encountered a Native American population that had practiced forest management and agriculture for thousands of years, and they found a landscape that was about 90 percent forested.

Early European settlers practiced a different method of agriculture based on intensively managed and privately owned parcels. These early farms were classified as subsistence and not market oriented, although most families tried to raise enough to have a surplus product to sell at a local market. Agricultural prosperity in Connecticut peaked between 1780 and 1830. The result of this pattern of land use in Connecticut was a landscape less than 40 percent forested (Highstead Arboretum, http://www. highsteadarboretum.org).

By the mid-nineteenth century, industrialization and growing population led to the emigration of the farming population to

eastern cities, or to the Midwest, New York, or Vermont. Farmers in Connecticut provided food for these growing cities and relied on urban populations to survive, instead of using the self-reliance that had led to their earlier prosperity.

By the time Natalie inherited the Van Vleck Farm, there were few farmers left in Connecticut. Her decision to bring agriculture back to the land, to combine parcels under a single owner, and then to set it aside for conservation went against the trends.

These trends continue to this day, with increasing development defining regional land use patterns. In Woodbury, predominant land use shifted from agriculture to residential development with an 18.3 percent increase in residential development from 1995 to 2006. In addition, build-out potential for the next ten to twenty years estimates the community could support a maximum population somewhere between 14,000 and 16,000 residents, a substantial increase from the existing 9,700 (2005 census) residents (The Town of Woodbury).

Residents of Woodbury today find a very different landscape from the one Natalie’s parents found, and while urbanites still come looking for the rural and pastoral, that landscape and way of life have changed. The pastoral agricultural landscape is now interrupted by housing developments, historic barns stand next to new mansions, and few farmers remain to carry on that lifestyle. While the loss of rural character and scenic views are something to be mourned, what is most urgent is the effect of development on water resources, wildlife habitat, and food sources for this growing human population.

Due in part to Natalie’s foresight in founding Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust and her appreciation for farming, Woodbury has been able to preserve agricultural land and open space. The Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary is part of a town and region-wide commitment to protect productive land and open space, and the water resources and wildlife habitat that they support. In this way, Flanders not only educates about agricultural history, but also seeks to create new connections to the land that will encourage new generations to appreciate the resources that Natalie cherished.

Land cover in1962

LEGEND farmland forest Wetland

Land cover today

LEGEND Field Forest Water Stream

The Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary was mostly agricultural land with forest occupying only the steepest parts of the farm until the 1960s, when fields were abandoned allowing the forest to return.

Section I: Introduction

11

The Watershed ponds comprises the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary, which is part of The natural resources of the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary do not just the Pomperaug River watershed in rural Litchfield County that include valuable farmland. Its streams and wetlands are part of a drains into the Housatonic watershed, covering much of western larger network of waterways and their protection from development Connecticut. The towns of Woodbury, along with Southbury to contributes to water quality for the whole watershed and the its south and Bethlehem to the north, make up 83 percent of the regional community.

Pomperaug River watershed. Protecting the watershed ensures clean

Like the homesteaders who built the original farmhouse water for human populations, and also maintains a diverse wildlife on the Van Vleck farm, colonialists first settled the valleys of this and plant community. Although the Pomperaug River is renowned watershed where rich floodplains provided the most fertile agricultural soils. As these areas became settled, development moved to smaller streams and housatonic river watershed then the surrounding lands. In Woodbury, the streams and valleys of the connecticut pomperaug river watershed Pomperaug, Nonnewaug and Weekeepeemee Rivers were the first to be van vleck farm sanctuary woodbury developed.

Above the river valleys, the traprock ridges define the strong north to south pattern found throughout the region and visible on the Sanctuary. The traprock ridges are narrow fault-block formations of basalt that are geologically younger than the nearby Appalachian Mountains.

As the last glaciers swept through New England, they scoured these earlier rock formations, creating abrupt cliff faces and scenic vistas. The retreating glaciers also left a rock-strewn landscape that prompted the creation of the 24,000 miles of stone walls that once partitioned most of New England as The marsh, ponds, and brooks on the Van Vleck Farm farmers claimed the deforested landscape (Thorson).

Sanctuary and the underlying aquifer connect to the

This stony landscape laced with rivers, brooks, and Pomperaug and Housatonic River watersheds of western Connecticut.

12

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

for its trout fishing, many other species depend on the watershed for habitat. White-tail deer, fox, coyote, and many bird species including bobolinks, great blue and green herons, mute swans, migratory ducks, wood ducks, Canada geese, wild turkey, and ruffed grouse all inhabit the area. Beaver, muskrat, otter, mink, rabbit, squirrels, chipmunks frogs, newts, turtles, wood frogs and toads are also frequently sighted along the trails at the Sanctuary. Additionally, the National Diversity Data Base tracks the presence of a number of species that are Endangered, Threatened, or of Special Concern within the watershed.

With increasing pressure from residential development, transportation infrastructure and commercial activity, stress on the watershed occurs at many levels. Land use and zoning laws, along with state and town wetland regulations, play an important role in resource protection. Regional land trusts like Flanders partner with town governments and conservation groups like the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition to permanently conserve land for open space and natural resource protection by restricting development and modeling responsible land management.

Currently only 8 percent of land in Woodbury is permanently protected as open space. The town’s Open Space Preservation Plan recommends a goal of 20 to 25 percent of the town’s land area (Town of Woodbury). Given that the bottomlands of brooks and rivers in the Pomperaug River watershed contain Woodbury’s prime agricultural land and that the streams provide clean water, preserving farm land and protecting open space provide innumerable benefits to visitors of the Sanctuary and to the town, the region and the watershed.

The Sanctuary marsh

Section I: Introduction

13

Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust Open Space Areas

The Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust Today

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Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust began with the donation of Natalie’s 200-acre Farm Sanctuary but the Land Trust now administers approximately 2,000 acres in Woodbury and " ) neighboring towns. Flanders is the steward of seven nature preserves, with woodlands, lakes, ponds, streams, fields and meadows, a bog, and miles of marked trails (The Case for Flanders £ ¤ Nature Center & Land Trust).

Of the seven preserves and numerous additional parcels, the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary is the administrative and educational heart of the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust. This Sanctuary £ ¤ also serves as a regional model for the ongoing interaction between Legend human activity and the natural environment. ) "

The importance of the artist, the farm, and the watershed arethefoundationsofthismulti-facetedorganization.Natalie’slegacy still drives decision making, farming is still a vibrant component, and the natural resources of the watershed are a major asset.

Legend " )

With the organic community garden and agricultural education programs at the North Farm, the Sanctuary is “one of the few working and teaching farm settings open to the public in the entire state” (The Case for Flanders, 1), drawing school groups, families, and volunteers from all over western Connecticut. " ) With its network of hiking trails, natural features and scenic views, the Sanctuary is a destination for the Woodbury community and flanders nature preserves the region at-large. With activities for children and adults and The Flanders Land Trust holds inOF GOVERNMENTS COUNCIL town of woodbury opportunities to explore in any season—snowshoeing in winter, CENTRAL NAUGATUCK VALLEY conservationapproximately2,000 maple sugaring in spring, community gardening all summer and the pomperaug stratified acres of land in numerous parcels. drift aquifer Fall Festival the highlight of the year—the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary The 200-acre Van Vleck Farm flanders land trust is a major attraction in Woodbury and Connecticut.

Sanctuary is one of seven nature parcels COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS

preserves CENTRAL NAUGATUCK held VALLEY in trust.

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Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Educational programs are offered year-round and provide a range of curricula for area schools, serving more than 5,000 students each year in addition to summer programs that bring another 600 students to the Sanctuary. The Flanders Environmental Training Institute, started in 2008, trains regional educators “in the newest ideas and best practices in environmental and science education.�

(The Case for Flanders, 1)

Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

15-30 mile radius

Nature Center

Art Education Agriculture

0-15 mile radius

School groups come to the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary from 15 miles to 30 miles away, while families, volunteers, and recreational users from the Woodbury community come from less than 15 miles away.

Conservation

Diagram of the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust shows the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary at the heart of the organization.The educational programs at the Sanctuary tie together all that Flanders offers, including conservation, the nature center, agriculture, and art.

As it plans for future growth, the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust is faced with the limitations of its current facility to meet future needs. Within the last four years, the Board of Directors and staff of the Nature Center have embarked on a strategic planning process. They are conducting a feasibility study to raise funds to construct a new administration and education center to accommodate the anticipated growth, while they continue to expand their land trust holdings by acquiring new parcels and easements for conservation. With the same type of foresight and planning that Natalie demonstrated, Flanders will ensure that it continues to fulfill its mission and realize its vision of the future.

Section I: Introduction

15

Vision for the Future

“Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust acquires and preserves open space while educating citizens to be future stewards of conserved lands and natural resources. We honor the legacy of our founder Natalie Van Vleck and others responsible for the growth of our nature center and our land trust by sharing their stories with all generations, thus inspiring preservation and stewardship for the future.

“Within ten years, we envision a new nature facility, bustling with children and adults who are participating in indoor and outdoor activities that teach them how to protect natural habitat, drinking water, clean air, and open space. Our facilities will be built and maintained in the most environmentally conscious manner possible in order to maximize our teaching potential and set an example for our community.�

A trail on the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

(Excerpted from Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust Vision Statement, Draft 4, 2008) To best support the mission of Flanders, this master plan seeks to guide planning decisions to help achieve this vision. The goals outlined in the plan direct the next sections of this report.

Inventories, analyses, design concepts and recommendations form the basis of the master plan as it aims to meet these goals.

16

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Goals of the Master Plan

These goals have evolved from the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust’s vision and their strategic plan for making improvements to the Sanctuary’s facilities.

Improve visitor experience.

• • • •

Welcoming entry experience Clear circulation patterns and access Efficient lighting for parking areas and buildings Inviting and user-friendly signs

Explore locations for a future Nature Center/administration building and evaluate the impacts of future growth.

• • • • •

Mitigate stormwater runoff Evaluate traffic patterns on roads and trails Address parking infrastructure Emphasize historic buildings and features Link agriculture, nature and art programs

Model the highest standards in ecological and sustainable land management.

• • • • •

Protect water quality Support agriculture Preserve forest health Enhance trails Sustain wildlife

Section I: Introduction

17

18

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Section II

Inventory and Analysis

Map 1: Existing Conditions

FLA

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The 200-acre Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary is the center of educational programs and activities for the Flanders Nature Center and administration for the Land Trust.

MARSH

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WOODLAND BROOK TRAILS 10' CONTOUR LINE LEDGE PARKING

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Sources 1. Planning and Trail Map for Flanders Nature Center 2.Connecticut GIS

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

BOTANY AREA

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Site Overview The 200-acre Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary is the center of educational programs and activities for the Flanders Nature Center and administration for the Land Trust. Every aspect of the Sanctuary from the fields and forests to the trails, houses, and barns are used for education and public enjoyment. Visitors come from near and far to attend educational programs and explore the Sanctuary’s features.

These features are treasured by the community and add to the unique character of this landscape.

The following is a detailed inventory and analysis of the existing conditions, including natural and cultural systems, functions and the broader location context. Each part provides an overview of important features and then outlines how current conditions influence planning and design.

Sanctuary

Site Context The Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary is a functional part of many larger systems and networks in the Woodbury area, including roads, wildlife corridors, open space greenways, and social systems. These networks, neighbors and systems support and affect what occurs within the Sanctuary, just as planning decisions at the Sanctuary have an effect on the larger context in which it sits.

Roads Flanders and Cowles Roads run parallel to each other and lead north of the Sanctuary into Bethlehem. Flanders Road is a main north-south corridor with the town of Woodbury located a ten-minute drive south on Flanders Road. Cowles Road angles to meet Flanders Road about 3/4 of a mile south of the Sanctuary. Church Hill Road functions as a short-cut for residents to get between Flanders and Route 6, the main

Aerial photo shows the Sanctuary and the surrounding context of roads, developed land, and the broader patterns of forest and field.

Section II: Inventory and Analysis

21

highway to the east.

Neighbors The Sanctuary’s neighbors are predominantly residential, both individual parcels and planned neighborhoods, with some commercial and agricultural properties nearby as well. There is a cloistered abbey that borders the property to the north that is active in agriculture, land conservation, theater, and the arts. A parcel next to the northwest corner of the property was formerly a part of the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary and includes an historic farmstead.

It was recently sold with the attachment of a conservation easement, effectively making it a holding of the Flanders Land Trust. Hightension power lines run across the northwestern quadrant of the Sanctuary, with a utility easement held by Connecticut Light and Power.

Vegetation and Land Cover The patterns of land use and vegetation on the Sanctuary are clearly visible in an aerial photo of the surrounding area. The patchwork of forest and fields present on the Sanctuary reflects the patterns of land cover in Woodbury and surrounding towns. The Sanctuary is made up of forest, agricultural fields, meadows and wetlands, making it an ideal location for educating the community about these vital resources. The diversity of ecosystems and land uses make the Sanctuary appealing to both humans and wildlife alike. This diversity adds to the scenic character of the region, as well as the richness of species that inhabit and pass through the Sanctuary.

Spring wildflowers blooming along the Botany Trail.

22

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Streams and Wetlands Waterways course through the Sanctuary with the marsh, East Meadow Brook, and its tributary streams, all part of a vital system that provides clean water to plants, animals, and humans. The highest point on the property is located at the northeastern corner and the lowest where East Meadow Brook flows off the property nearly three hundred feet lower on the southwestern corner. Water

features offer stunning views and opportunities for wildlife siting.

The combination of open water and wooded wetlands adds to the importance of the role the Sanctuary plays in protecting water quality for wildlife and people.

Stone Walls Remnants of the agricultural history and old property lines dividing historical parcels of land, stone walls run throughout the property, lining roads and crossing trails. The stone walls, outcropping of ledge and scattered boulders are highlights of the trail system and educational destinations in themselves.

Large central marsh is an ideal location for a walk or an afternoon of quiet observation.

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Section looking east showing relatively level terrain and the large central marsh.

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Section II: Inventory and Analysis

23

Buildings and Program Hubs at the Sanctuary

POLE Barn House

A bird’s eye view of the buildings on the Sanctuary reveals three historical farms, and the Trail House and Sugar House.The farms all date from prior to 1900, while the Trail and Sugar houses were built within the last fifty years for Nature Center activities.

trail house

North barn sugar house North Barn Hub

director’s house

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STUDIO Line easement

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Sources 1. planning map for Flanders Nature Center 2. Connecticut GIS

24

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Historic Structures and Program Hubs

Farms and Buildings The property was originally separate parcels that the Van Vleck family purchased over the years to form one contiguous parcel.

The multiple parcels are still visible in the three distinct clusters of residences and farm buildings on Flanders Road. Each farmstead has its own history and character and their buildings now serve as residences, farm buildings, nature center, and classroom. These buildings have been re-purposed over time to meet the program needs of the Nature Center as it has evolved and changed over the years. These structures were not intended for their current use. The Nature Center has made do with the spaces they have, but they are beyond their capacity and further retrofitting would be challenging, would alter the historical character of the place, and would be costly.

The historic pattern of development has shaped the character and use of each of three main hubs that serve the program needs of the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust today. The Studio next to the original farmhouse where the current director lives, serves as the organization’s administrative center. The North Barn is where agricultural programming is located, and the Trail House is used for nature programs and summer camps. The Sugar House serves as a classroom when it is not sugaring season.

Parking lots are located at each of the buildings used for public programs and facilitate access as well as add to the complexity of overlapping functions at each hub.

The original Van Vleck farmhouse is now the director’s residence.

Nature Center hub

north barn hub studio and administration Hub south farm

Three main hubs serve the programs of the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust.

Section II: Inventory and Analysis

25

Studio and Administration Hub

Looking north from the parking lot toward the director’s house (left) and the Studio (right) director’s house

office and studio

parking

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pedestrian crossing

parking

pedestrian path

public building

all vehicles

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NOT TO SCALE

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

The main public entrance to the Sanctuary is at the Studio and Administration Hub at the intersection of Flanders and Church Hill Roads.

Natalie’s post-and-beam studio is used today for administrative and art functions and serves as the welcome center. The current director, Arthur Milnor, lives in the original Van Vleck farmhouse.

The mix of public and private uses in this area causes some confusion for first-time visitors, who mistakenly come to the house looking for the main office. The studio is the largest four-season meeting and gathering space at the Sanctuary.

It accommodates a group of ten to fifteen. Bathroom facilities are limited and were not designed for public use. There is limited parking on the north side of Church Hill Road and guests are encouraged to park in the lot on the south side of the road. This lot also serves as a trailhead for the Farm Trail.

North Barn Agricultural Hub A seven-minute walk north of the Administration and Studio Hub along the East Meadow Brook brings you to the North Barn, the center of agricultural programs and activities and home to the Buzz Russell Museum of Antique Tools and Farm Life. The North Barn, a historic Connecticut barn, is the summer home for a small collection of farm animals. It provides a large open space for educational programs. The barn is bordered by pasture and the organic community garden to the east. North of the barn is a small house that was built for Natalie’s shepherd and is currently leased as a residence.

Residents of this hub have little privacy, being a residential island in a very public agricultural center. Farm equipment is stored in the pole barn, which also houses a small shop for storing tools and making routine repairs. There are no restroom facilities in the North Barn and a portable toilet must be rented for programs. There is limited parking outside the barn with some overflow in front of the pole barn. There is no space for buses to park or turn around in this area, resulting in students being dropped off on Flanders Road. This affects traffic flow on the road and is a primary safety concern.

Looking south from the pole barn at the shepherd house and the North Barn.

Pole barn

Shepherd house rental

Buzz Russell Museum

North barn

community garden legend

all vehicles

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Section II: Inventory and Analysis

27

The Sugar House is used for maple syrup production in spring and summer camps.

Nature Center Hub The Trail House is at the head of the marsh and wilderness trails, the ideal location for nature-oriented programs.

trail house

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proposed building site sugar house

botany trail

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pedestrian crossing

parking

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NOT TO SCALE

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Another eight-minute walk east on Church Hill Road from the Administration and Studio Hub is the Trail House on the north side of the road. At the entrance to the marsh and wilderness trails, it is an ideal location for nature-oriented programs and warming up after a brisk walk. The Trail House is currently used for children’s programming and summer day camps.

Just across Church Hill Road is the Sugar House, the parking area for both buildings, Flanders’ proposed building site for the new Nature Center and administration building. Set back from the road, the Sugar House is used for maple syrup production in spring and for large gatherings and summer camp programs.

There are no restrooms in the Sugar House yet. A portable toilet is currently used for public programs, but a septic system is installed that will eventually serve the Sugar House.

The parking area is also the trailhead for the Botany Trail.

Overflow parking for the Fall Festival and special events takes place in a hay field to the east of the parking area.

South Farm

Implications for Planning

A three-minute walk south of the Studio, the farm trail passes the South Farm, which consists of a nineteenth-century farmhouse, a barn and another out-building. This house is one of the three farms that recall the history of the property. The house is leased to a residential tenant, and the barn is used for storage by Flanders. Though the farm is not used by visitors, there is some overlap between the needs of the

organization and the private

residence.

As the Nature Center has grown and as use of the Sanctuary has changed, spatial constraints have arisen in the use of historical buildings for public programs. Given the constraints of the existing buildings, a new building with a space to accommodate large gatherings and administrative functions would improve what Flanders offers to the community.

Parking facilities could be improved and expanded to better accommodate the numbers of visitors using the Sanctuary, while providing easier access for school buses to turn around and park at program hubs.

Bathroom facilities that were designed for residential use are limited and could be improved at all program locations, or higher capacity facilities incorporated into a new building.

A new building could also alleviate public pressure on residential tenants by removing heavy program use from primarily residential hubs. Conversely, housing staff or other residents more associated with Flanders would better support both the users and the organization.

south Farm

residence

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StorAge Barn

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Section II: Inventory and Analysis

29

Map 2: Vegetation Communities

Pine/ larch Forest upland forest

Vegetation communities support wildlife and are important resources for the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust in their mission to provide opportunities for enjoyment and education to the community.

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mixed hardwood Nut Arboretum forest dense young forest

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Field Forest

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Water Stream

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Sources 1. Planning and Trail Map for Flanders Nature Center 2.Connecticut GIS

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Botany area pond

mixed hardwood forest

Vegetation and Wildlife Habitat

Fields and Meadows (82 acres) The fields and meadows are identified as the most important feature of this property (Ferucci), because open fields provide valuable edge habitat, and support species that require such conditions for nesting and overall health. In a predominantly forested landscape like western Connecticut, open habitats are becoming increasingly rare as farms are abandoned and forest returns. Fields at the Sanctuary are maintained by infrequent mowing and haying, with an understanding of wildlife needs.

Upland Forest (32 acres) This area is a mixed-age forest with a canopy of mostly older oaks, while younger species are primarily black birch and red maple, with some ash, tulip poplar, sugar maple and hickory trees. The forest also consists of a hemlock understory.

This area is being managed for timber revenue, stand health, wildlife habitat, and species diversity.

Fields and forest at the Sanctuary The diversity of vegetation communities within the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary, including forests, fields, meadows and wetlands, makes it appealing to both humans and wildlife. The mix of open fields and meadows, wetland and upland forest, and open water ecosystems supports a great diversity of wildlife species including birds, mammals, and amphibians. Management practices for these varying habitats benefit both humans and wildlife and include management for agriculture, forestry, open space, wildlife habitat and aesthetic values.

Land use of the Sanctuary today is approximately half agricultural and developed land and half forested land.

A comprehensive land management plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary was created in 1999 as part of the Stewardship Incentive Program (SIP) through the United States Department of Agriculture. The plan for the SIP divides the property into the following Management Units and makes recommendations for management to optimize the diversity and benefits that the landscape offers.

Wetland Forest (17 acres) These overgrown areas have many dead or unhealthy trees and a large amount of down wood (Ferucci).

This decaying wood is important wildlife habitat, with one fourth of all potential Connecticut wildlife species requiring this landscape element. Red maple trees are the dominant tree species with ash, elm, birch, and a few other species also present.

Ponds/Marsh/Stream (16 acres) The ponds and marsh are manmade. All waterbodies are part of the Pomperaug River watershed and are managed to preserve water quality and protect habitat.

Dense,Young Forest (12 acres) This unit is a succession-mixed hardwood stand with white pine that seeded naturally into abandoned farmland about forty years ago (Ferucci). Red maple is the dominant tree due to wet soils. Other species identified are sugar maple, ash, cherry, hickory, and a few elm, yellow birch, black birch, oak, red cedar, and aspen.

Section II: Inventory and Analysis

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Two-Aged Mixed Hardwood Forest (10 acres) This forest type occurs on former fields and pasture land. The scattered, ninety-to one-hundred and twenty-year-old white and red oak were former pasture trees that provided shade and mast for livestock. The second age group consists of fifty to seventy-year-old oaks, hickory, birch, maple and hemlock. This area is managed for firewood harvest to remedy overcrowding, as well as wildlife habitat.

Botany Trail Area (8 acres) Wetland and upland forest vegetation occupy this area. It is recommended that this area continue to be managed for rare and threatened plants. The Pomperaug Garden Club manages this area, which is a primary destination for Sanctuary visitors and highly valued for its rarity and diversity.

Developed Areas (4 acres) North Farm, South Farm, director’s House and Studio, Trail House and Sugar House are the most developed and most used parts of the property and include buildings, gravel parking areas, and roads.

Christmas Tree Plantations (4 acres) While Flanders no longer grows Christmas trees for public sale, the remaining trees provide habitat function, and some are sold each year to members of the Flanders community.

Bobolink Because of the decline in farmland, open fields are less common in the area and so those at the Sanctuary are maintained for field-nesting species like the bobolink.

32

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Pine Stand and Pine/Larch Plantation (2 acres) The pine stand west of the Sugar House, and pine/larch plantation west of the marsh are mainly coniferous with some smaller hardwoods naturally seeded throughout. The pine/larch plantation is about forty-five years old.

Both areas have been thinned due to overcrowding.

Nut Arboretum (<1 acre) A nut arboretum was planted in the early 1960s around the time of the founding of the Flanders Nature Center. It includes a variety of nut tree species such as horse chestnut, walnut, and hazelnut, and is managed with the surrounding meadows and forests.

The agricultural history of the Sanctuary and changing management patterns over time have given the landscape its unique character and value. These changing patterns have also resulted in less desirable conditions, such as the invasion of non-native plant species. The following invasive species are found on the property: winged euonymous, Japanese barberry, Russian olive, multiflora rose, oriental bittersweet, and garlic mustard, Japanese knotweed, buckthorn, Amur honeysuckle, Dameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rocket, and phragmites.

Some of these were planted as fence rows or escaped gardens, while others thrive in turned soils. Rose and barberry are common in abandoned fields. Mowing helps to reduce the occurrence of these plants and their spreading to new areas. While the presence of invasive non-natives is a threat to some native species, many of these species also provide valuable wildlife habitat and forage.

Implications for Planning Vegetation and wildlife are important resources for the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust and their mission to provide opportunities for enjoyment and education to the community. The mission of modeling sustainable management practices should be upheld to the greatest extent to benefit human enjoyment as much as ecosystem integrity.

Fields and open lands are a primary asset that should be protected for their rarity. Ponds, streams and wetlands serve vital functions for wildlife and are part of the system providing drinking water for the town of Woodbury. Forest stands are an appealing feature of the Sanctuary that draw visitors to explore and treasure the landscape. All of the landscape features are important to preserve for the diversity of benefits they provide. Consideration for best management practices to protect these areas should influence planning and design decisions at every level (See Section IV: Recommendations for Land Management).

Oriental bittersweet

Russian olive

Winged euonymous

Japanese barberry

Multiflora rose

Garlic mustard

Some non-native plants have invaded the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary in areas where farm fields were abandoned.

See Section IV: Recommendations for Land Management.

Section II: Inventory and Analysis

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The presence of large areas of prime farmland soils along streams and open farm fields are major assets of the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary as they promote agriculture and support wildlife.

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Sources 1. Planning and Trail Map for Flanders Nature Center 2.Connecticut GIS

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Land Use and Soil Patterns of land use at the Sanctuary reflect the good understanding of soil that farmers had, with the majority of fields located on prime and good agricultural soils. Fertile soils for farming typically occur along streams and past flood plains, with soils following the geology and hydrology that run in clear north-south patterns.

Much of the prime agricultural soil on the property has been cleared and used for farming. On the property where woodlands today are found on prime agricultural soils there is evidence that they were once cleared, including the presence of stone walls, large wolf trees once left in pastures to shade livestock, and escaped hedgerow species.

Agricultural fields are primarily mowed for hay with the exception of the fields around the North Barn that are used for both pasture and the Community Garden. Some of the smaller fields are mowed less often and maintained as a meadow habitat.

Young forest reclaiming abandoned field on the north side of Church Hill Road east of the Trail House.

Implications for Planning The prevalence of prime agricultural soils and productive, open farmland is a major asset of the Sanctuary. With the dual mission of conserving both open space and agricultural land, agriculture should be emphasized and the current agricultural fields protected so the land will remain a valuable resource into the future. Farmland should be maintained and farmed according to best management practices and to meet organic standards.

Evaluation of potential future building sites must take into account the location of farm fields and agricultural soils so that farming can remain a prominent feature of the Sanctuary.

Vehicular and foot traffic compact soil, changing its structure and severely limiting its ability to support vegetation. Reducing traffic on fields is vital to maintaining healthy and fertile soil.

Preparing the Community Garden for spring planting.

Section II: Inventory and Analysis

35

Map 4: Roads and Trails

MARSH

TRAP ROCK

N. Barn

Trail House

House Studio

Legend UNPAVED ROAD FARM ROAD

S. Farm

Sugar House

Farm TRAIL

BOTANY Area

WILDERNESS TRAIL Paved Parking

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pond

Sources 1. Planning and Trail Map for Flanders Nature Center 2.Connecticut GIS

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Access and Circulation Roads and trails provide access to the Sanctuary and form a network that connects users to the features and destinations on the property.

Church Hill Road is unpaved and utilized as a neighborhood short-cut connecting the main routes of Flanders Road and Route 6 to the east. These roads also provide vehicular access within the Sanctuary between the program hubs. Church Hill Road is used by neighbors for recreational purposes such as walking, running, and biking.

A farm road on the western side of the property on both sides of Church Hill Road connects the three program hubs and forms a loop. This trail facilitates access to farm fields for farm equipment as well as a scenic loop for hayrides and pedestrians exploring the agricultural features of the property.

Trails on the eastern portion of the property provide opportunities for visitors to explore a number of destinations and ecosystems. The most popular destinations, which receive the highest use, are the marsh and Botany Trail. The Botany Trail provides access to many highlights in the southeastern part of the Sanctuary.

On the northeastern side of Church Hill Road, trails create interconnected loops and take hikers across sloping terrain, through hardwood forest, and past the geologic formation of traprock ledge.

In this area visitors see remnants of the agricultural past in the abandoned fields turned to meadows, the stone walls, and a number of large spreading wolf trees. Trail markers with color-coded arrows direct visitors and occasional interpretive signs provide information about native plants and other features and destinations. The network of trails are a major asset to the Sanctuary that both new and frequent visitors enjoy.

Sanctuary hiking trail

Implications for Planning

Roads provide both vehicular and pedestrian access, causing some safety concerns for pedestrians using roads for recreation.

Pedestrians perceive the road as safe to walk along, while local residents using it as a short-cut are less aware of its use within the Sanctuary. Signs or other cues along roads could announce pedestrian use to drivers. Intersections where roads and trails meet could be made clearer to improve safety for pedestrians.

Trails are well maintained and serve a vital role in making the Sanctuary accessible and enjoyable to the public. Interpretation along trails is inconsistent and random and could be improved.

See Section IV: Recommendations for signs and trails.

Section II: Inventory and Analysis

37

Map 5: Zones of Use Analysis Zone I: Most heavily used Roads and trails linking program hubs and popular scenic destinations

ERS

ND

FLA TRAP ROCK LEDGE

MARSH

E. ME

AD RO

Zone II: Well used Recreation trails and areas maintained for agriculture

WB ADO

Zone III: Least human use N. BARN Uncleared areas with no trails

K ROO

MIXED HARDWOOD FOREST

Legend

Pond and marsh

FARM House Studio

Forest

UNPAVED ROAD FARM ROAD Farm TRAIL WILDERNESS TRAIL

38

200' 400'

600'

OOK E. MEADOW BR

S. FARM

Field

WOODED WETLAND SUGAR HOUSE

Sources 1. Planning and Trail Map for Flanders Nature Center 2.Connecticut GIS

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

COWLES ROAD

Stream

0

TRAIL HOUSE

POND

CHURCH HILL ROAD

WOODED WETLAND BOTANY AREA POND

MIXED HARDWOOD FOREST

Zones of Use Analysis With an understanding of the network of roads and trails and the levels of use they receive it is possible to assess the effectiveness of circulation and its effect on program function as well as understand the potential impacts human access and circulation have on natural systems.

Zones of use The most heavily used areas of the Sanctuary are created by the roads and trails between hubs and areas that provide access to scenic destinations. Other well used areas are found on trails used for passive recreation and that connect fields maintained for agriculture. The least used areas are woods and wetlands that are free of trails.

The Botany Trail is a popular destination for viewing ephemeral wildflowers and rare plants, species that are particularly susceptible to disturbance. Streams and wetlands are also especially sensitive and trails such as the Botany, Marsh and Farm trails that border or cross wetlands occur in the most heavily used zones and put stress on these ecosystems.

Fields near the North Barn and Sugar House in the most frequented areas are used occasionally for overflow parking.

decrease the negative impacts humans have on their environment.

The Botany area, and trails that occur near wetlands or water should be monitored more strictly and managed to protect and minimize disturbance. Limiting vehicle use of farm fields would support agriculture and protect valuable farmland. Management zones that characterize levels of use and limit access, or provide access that is designed to mitigate and prevent damage would enable Flanders to continue use of popular destinations while protecting natural systems.

See Section IV: Recommendations for Parking and Trails.

Implications for Planning Roads and trails bring humans into the landscape and provide opportunities for education and enjoyment. By looking at the most heavily used areas on the property and where they occur with respect to land cover and ecosystems on the property, it is possible to understand where current use and development have the potential to impact sensitive areas. Access and use should always be balanced with the mission of the Nature Center and Land Trust to protect the landscapes they manage.

Well sited and designed roads and trails can greatly

North Farm during the annual fall festival, the largest event hosted at the Sanctuary.Vehicles compact the soil, reducing the value of fields for farming.

Section II: Inventory and Analysis

39

Map 6: Slope, Drainage, and Legal Protections Analysis

The Sanctuary is defined by narrow bands of steep slopes that direct drainage into the stream valleys.Topography and legal restrictions influence decisions about development including locations for parking, roads, trails, and buildings.

Flandersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Preliminary proposed site

Steep Slopes Above 15% Grade Drainage Flow Wetlands and Review Areas

0

40

200' 400'

600'

Sources 1. Planning and Trail Map for Flanders Nature Center 2.Connecticut GIS

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Road

oad

Flanders Road

Legend

Hill

Cowles R

Church

Development Suitability Analysis Analysis of natural features, program use, and regulations help create criteria for assessing development suitability.

Zoning The Sanctuary is within the Residential Open Space zone and is subject to a fifty-foot road setback and forty-foot property line setback. For more information on zoning restrictions pertaining to structures, fences and signs, see the Zoning Regulations for the Town of Woodbury (www.woodburyct.org).

Wetlands Protection The state of Connecticut passed the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Act to protect water quality. In compliance with that act, the town restricts development and disturbance within one hundred feet of wetlands and watercourses. Wetlands are delineated

A

A1

Section cut looking north shows elevation change and the resulting drainage pattern.

ST

RE

TR

AM

AI

L

HAY FIELDS

Slope Steep slopes on the site run north-south in bands following the traprock ridges and the stream corridors. Water flows down slopes and collects in low places where streams and wetlands occur.

Potential for erosion increases with steepness of slope.

Implications for Planning Topography, state and town legal protections and restrictions, and drainage patterns limit the suitability of some areas on the property as potential building sites. Likewise, they indicate where agriculture may occur and is most suitable. Erosion prevention is a primary concern with these activities and the impact on wetlands and watercourses of high importance. Parking lots near wetlands are also regulated by the state wetlands act, as they are generally impervious to water and pollution from automobiles is washed into streams and wetlands. Vegetation, permeable soils, and distance are important for preventing pollution from reaching waterways. Erosion from

MARSH

TR

0' 200' 400'

AI

L

Section Scale

S LE W O D C OA R

FL MEADOW RO AND AD ER S

by hydric soils and must be flagged by a specialist. A one-hundredfoot review area is then drawn from the flagged wetland line and any development or disturbance must be reviewed by the town planning commission. In the cases where steep slopes are present in wetland areas the review area is increased as the degree of slope increases (see the Upland Wetland Review Area Regulations at www.woodburyct.org). Much of the Botany Trail area is within the upland review areas surrounding the pond and associated wetlands.

A

A1

Section II: Inventory and Analysis

41

Preliminary Building Site Proposed By Flanders

concentrated flows of water off large impervious surfaces is also reduced by vegetated buffers. Buffers can be natural or constructed, and help to prevent pollution and erosion from affecting water systems.

To model the highest standards in land use and conservation, the location of future development should be consolidated and located in areas that are less sensitive. Wetlands and their review areas should be avoided for building as well as wetlands associated access roads and parking areas. Sites that are not steep will require less drastic site work and are preferable to those needing extensive regrading. line of flagged wetlands

Review areas in conjunction with setbacks and steep slopes limit potential locations for additional buildings on the Sanctuary.

With these considerations in mind, a thorough evaluation of the preliminary building and parking site proposed by Flanders has been conducted and is summarized on the following pages.

Pond

20 Car Parking lot Area

Review

sugar house

1

wetlands

line of flagged wetlands

10

0â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Upland

Existing septic system leach field

Pond Area

Upland

Review

â&#x20AC;&#x2122; 00

proposed building

0 40'

The pond to the southeast of the preliminary proposed building site in the Botany Trail area.

42

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

The preliminary proposed building site located northeast of the Sugar House is sited outside of upland review areas bordering wetlands.

However, the parking lot is within the review area and very near a pond or possible vernal pool.

Detail of Flanders Preliminary Building Site The preliminary proposed building site explored by Flanders for a new Nature Center and administration building is just north of the Sugar House. The area just surrounding the building site is very wet and in close proximity to a number of potential vernal pools and the sensitive, and frequently wet, Botany Trail area. A Connecticut certified soil scientist flagged the wetlands and the subsequent review area is delineated in gray on the preceding page.

The buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s preliminary proposed location is just outside of the review areas, but the access road and parking, which were put in to serve the Sugar House and Trail House hub, are within the review area. Furthermore, this parking lot would need to be expanded to accommodate increased program use in the area if a new building were to be sited here. This has the potential to very negatively affect water quality and sensitive wetland habitats that wildlife, especially amphibians, depend on.

Through the analysis of the preliminary proposed building site, several concerns arose as to the suitability of expanding building and parking facilities in that location. The Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust has a mission to both model and educate visitors and community members on the best management practices for protecting water quality, wildlife habitat, and ecosystem health.

Even if the planning commission would be willing to grant a permit, alternative sites farther from wetlands should be explored.

In situations where there are no other alternatives, bioswales and rain gardens should be constructed to slow stormwater and provide opportunities for infiltration and purification. These can also be implemented in areas where existing parking threatens water quality.

Given the concerns raised, this study explored alternative sites for the New Nature Center.

Drawing showing what the proposed new building and parking lot would look like and their relative distance from the wetland areas.

Existing 20-car parking lot would need to be expanded to accommodate the New Nature Center. This would greatly increase the impact on habitat and water quality of nearby ponds and stream.

Section II: Inventory and Analysis

43

Map 7: Potential Building Sites Analysis Potential building sites at the Sanctuary are based on criteria and suitability for a new nature center and administrative building.

The best site meets all criteria and best fulfills the goals.

Good sites have specific drawbacks and do not meet all the goals.

Drainage Flow Wetlands and Review Areas

44

200' 400'

600'

Sources 1. Planning and Trail Map for Flanders Nature Center 2.Connecticut GIS

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Road

oad

Flandersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Preliminary Proposed site

Steep Slopes Above 15% grade

0

Hill

Cowles R

Legend

Church

Flanders Road

Worst sites have multiple drawbacks and do not meet the goals.

Potential Building Sites Criteria and Evaluation Ideally the new education and administration building should bring together elements of Flanders programs while protecting natural resources and modeling sustainable development practices.

Establishing the Criteria A series of criteria informed by program use and all potential buildable land form the basis of an analysis of potential sites across the property. The summary analysis of slope, legal restrictions, and drainage identified wetland and slopes constraints as just cause to identify alternative building sites to the preliminary site explored

by Flanders. There are a number of buildable sites that become apparent through this first analysis, but the chosen sites, highlighted and ranked by color, meet all of the following criteria.

Primary Criteria: • Road frontage

Minimizes the environmental impact of vehicular access

and roads are an existing link between buildings and hubs • Access to existing program hubs and trails

Utilizes existing infrastructure • Away from wetlands and outside of upland review areas

Protects water quality and ecosystem integrity • Space for the proposed building (6,000 square feet) with room for modular expansion

Accommodates future program uses and more visitors • Parking area for 3 buses and turn-around, 40-50 regular spaces, and 30 overflow spaces. Dimensions vary with specific site design.

Accommodates current and anticipated use • A site with <10% slope for a parking lot

Minimizes cost and environmental impact of grading

• Potential location for a septic system

Meets legal specifications and minimizes potential impact to water quality

Refining the Criteria Sites that meet the criteria above are ranked based on secondary factors and weighed against the goals and mission of the organization, sustainable development and the protection of natural resources. Other conditions include solar availability, loss of farmland and woodland, disturbance to stone walls, and the overall impact that siting would have on programs and circulation. A site may meet the initial criteria making it a buildable area, but these secondary criteria help to weigh the benefits and constraints of each site based on the goals and values of the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust.

Solar Availability A primary feature of sustainable building with respect to siting is orientation and the potential for passive or active solar gain.

Orienting a building to the south by maximizing glazing on south and east, while minimizing glazing on the north and west, reduces the energy needed to heat and cool the building. Daylighting is the other feature of green building that requires the availability of light at the building site. Sites in open fields and those that are open to the south currently have more solar access. All sites were evaluated, but because the Sanctuary is primarily wooded, any site would need to create viable solar gain for passive and active solar systems. Clearing of trees would occur primarily to the south and east and to a lesser degree to the west. Daylighting can be achieved by a number of architectural solutions, some of which require ample solar access while others can be achieved simply by clearing an area equivalent to the footprint of the building.

For more information on these and other green building principles, see Section IV: Recommendations for Green Building.

Section II: Inventory and Analysis

45

Map 8: Refined Building Sites Analysis

Potential building sites placed on the map of vegetation communities shows the specific communities that would be affected by building. Sites are ranked from most suitable to least and the numbers highlight sites that are explored further in Section III.

E

C 3

2

1 Hill

Road

A

B

Flanders Road

Good sites have specific drawbacks and do not meet all the goals.

Church

Cowles R oad

The best site meets all criteria and best fulfills the goals.

Worst sites have multiple drawbacks and do not meet the goals.

D 0

46

200' 400'

600'

Sources 1. Planning and Trail Map for Flanders Nature Center 2.Connecticut GIS

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Loss of farmland and woodland Potential sites exist both in farm fields and in wooded areas. Owing to historical land use patterns, farm fields exist on less steep parts of the Sanctuary, because farmers cleared the flatter areas for agriculture to prevent erosion and ease the load of working on steep slopes. Natural resource assessments of the Sanctuary emphasize the value to wildlife of open and edge ecosystems, and the high value of productive farmland in a landscape that is primarily wooded. Because this is the character of the Sanctuary and the region, the loss of farmland is an important factor in considering building sites and location of future expansion. Therefore it is recommended that building on agricultural land be avoided.

Disturbance to stone walls Given the prevalence of stone walls across the whole of the Sanctuary, lining roads, fields and lacing through the woodlands, any potential building site would likely require some disturbance to stone walls. Best management recommendations should be followed to maintain these features of the Sanctuary, and any stones that are moved should be incorporated into the design or reused.

See Section IV: Recommendations for stone walls.

Implications for program use and site character Each potential building site has specific implications for how it would affect program use, alter the character of existing hubs, and shape the overall character and circulation at the Sanctuary. The sites D and E shown in red, on Cowles Road, are distant from the existing program hubs, would need new trail infrastructure to link them to currently frequented paths, and would disturb some of the least disturbed woodlands on the property (see Levels of Use Analysis).

Site C also shown in red, closer to Church Hill Road, is on a south-facing hill that affords one of the best views across the property looking in every direction. This is also near the benches

that mark the site of Natalieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s final resting place. Despite having the best solar orientation, this site has a unique character that would be lost if the new building were placed there.

Implications for Planning and Design Three sites were chosen to explore in the Conceptual Design Alternatives based on their strengths as potential building sites and the implications to benefit overall program and circulation effectiveness.

1

2

3

Site 1 is near the existing program hubs and trailheads and would require less environmental disturbance to link to them because it is away from sensitive natural systems.

In addition, this site is not located on prime farm soil and agricultural fields. Proximity to roads provides access without creating new avenues, but this site draws the administrative and education functions farther away from existing program hubs.

Site 2, like the other secondary sites to the south along Church Hill Road, would easily enhance the current program use of the Sugar House/Trail House hub.

However, they all occur in farm fields and would reduce the amount of productive farmland.

Site 3, on the west side of Flanders Road, would clearly give the new education center greater public presence than sites off the main road in the interior of the Sanctuary. However, the property lines and the steep slopes next to the site would limit future expansion, and crossing Flanders Road is a safety concern for visitors.

Section II: Inventory and Analysis

47

48

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Section III

Conceptual Design Alternatives

Alternative A: Art is the Bridge

FLANDERS working farm

outdoor Gallery trail house studio

residence artist residence in studio

AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS

CHURCH A

NATURE use NATURE PROGRAM USE

COWLES ROAD

BROOK

LEGEND AGRICULTURAL LAND use

TRAP ROCK LEDGE

MARSH

E. MEADOW

ROAD

This alternative explores siting the building in the area initially proposed by Flanders with a suggested alternative site to the northeast in the hayfield.This would push the building up slope and away from the wetland.

residence

ART use RESIDENTIAL use

sugar house

B

community garden barn

2 alternative new building sites BOTANY AREA POND

0

50

200' 400'

600'

Towards a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

HILL ROAD

A. Art is the Bridge This plan would enhance the art portion of the Sanctuary’s program offerings by returning the Studio to an artist’s workshop and residence and offering further art programing. An outdoor gallery and art classes in the Trail House make art the bridge between the corridors of farmsteads on Flanders Roads and the program core at the center of the Sanctuary. The plan explores two alternative building sites that would minimize impact on nearby wetlands.

Concept: Multi-function Within the public program core, spaces serve multiple functions and are shared by all program elements—art, nature, agriculture, and administration.

Major Features of the Design • Development is concentrated along roads, where impact has historically occurred.

• The new building locations utilize existing parking and septic system infrastructure.

• Building site B is closer to the road and alleviates impact on sensitive wetlands.

• New building footprint is minimized by sharing spaces with the Sugar House and Trail House and serves primarily as a welcome center with administrative offices.

• Restoring the North Barn to a working farm complements educational programs.

• Moving the barn from the South Farm to the new building and community garden area, or building a new barn in the future,

provides more space for a wider range of agricultural education programs at a central location.

• The Art program is enhanced and given a stronger presence at the Sanctuary.

• Private and public uses are separated, reducing confusion for first-time visitors.

Potential Drawbacks

• Concentrated use occurs near sensitive natural areas and the

proximity to the Botany Trail increases use of this cherished resource, which could have greater negative impacts.

• Buildings and parking occupy prime farmland, which reduces available agricultural land.

• The working farm is separated from the program core.

• The program core is removed from main road, reducing public presence.

Design Directives 1. Provide clear signs and directions to the program core from Flanders Road, especially for first-time visitors.

2. Mitigate runoff with water catchment and infiltration systems to buffer wetlands from increased building and parking development.

3. Monitor the Botany Trail and pond carefully for impact and take actions to reduce the negative effects of increased use.

This alternative does not support or enhance agricultural programs at the Sanctuary. Increasing development and activity near fragile ecosystems does not support the goal of modeling best practices for natural resource protection. The next two alternatives explore these aspects of the Sanctuary in greater depth.

Section III: Conceptual Design Alternatives

51

Alternative B: Agriculture is the Link FLANDERS E. MEADOW

ROAD

Two working farms enhance the agricultural presence on Flanders Road.The community garden expands the agricultural use of the Sugar house into three seasons and provides a place for community gatherings and work parties.

TRAPROCK LEDGE

MARSH working farm BROOK

LEGEND

trail house

AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS

studio residences

CHURCH HILL ROAD

community garden

NATURE USE NATURE PROGRAM USE

working farm

ART USE

sugar house

BOTANY AREA

RESIDENTIAL USE POND

0

52

200' 400'

600'

Towards a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

art COWLES ROAD

AGRICULTURAL LAND USE

new Nature Center

B. Agriculture is the Link Inspired by Natalie’s commitment to farming, and looking to a future where agriculture is a vital and viable profession in the community, this alternative brings multiple small farms to the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary, making working agriculture, along with farm education programs, the link between all parts of the Sanctuary and the greater Woodbury community. The new nature center is located in the woods to optimize the use of farm fields.

Concept: Separation This alternative separates programs into distinct cores, reorganizing each existing core to have a single programmatic and educational focus. Each program use has its own separate hub, clarifying for new visitors where particular events take place.

Two working farms enhance the agricultural presence on Flanders Road. The community garden expands the agricultural use of the Sugar house into three seasons and provides a place for community gatherings and work parties. The new building site north of Church Hill Road creates a nature education and administration center.

Major Features of the Design • Two working farms encourage multiple viable farm enterprises and return buildings to their historically intended uses.

• The new building site north of Church Hill Road links trails, nature education, and the Trail House.

• Moving the Shepherd’s House out of the North Barn hub allows for car and bus parking to serve farm programs.

• The new location of the Shepherd’s House creates a desirable rental property that is separate from public programs.

• The parcel west of Flanders Road with the new location for the Shepherd’s House, which is already disconnected from the rest of the Sanctuary, could be sold to raise funds in the future.

• Public and private zones are separated, reducing confusion for first-time visitors.

Potential Drawbacks • Distances between program hubs without clear wayfinding tools adds to confusion for new visitors.

• Development and multiple large parking lots in separate locations increases the impact on ecological communities.

• Moving structures is costly and severs existing and historical building site precedence.

Design Directives 1. Monitor and manage for greater human use across the property to prevent degradation of natural resources.

2. Mitigate runoff at every hub to preserve water quality.

3. Provide clear signs and directions for visitors, especially first-time users, to all program hubs.

This concept focuses more on the agricultural resources than on the natural resources and ecological integrity that are an important part of the mission of open space conservation that the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust supports. The third concept is an attempt to explore an alternative that focuses on the protection of natural resources and ecological integrity.

Section III: Conceptual Design Alternatives

53

Alternative C: Habitat is Restored

working farm

TRAPROCK LEDGE

MARSH

E. MEADOW

ROAD

BROOK

LEGEND

FLANDERS

Concentrating development in a areas along roadways where buildings already exist lessens the impact on natural areas and reduces human activity near wildlife. Concentrating program uses enhances the ability of visitors to easily navigate the Sanctuary and its offerings.

new Education Center

AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS

land manager trail house

artist residence in studio

CHURCH HILL ROAD Closed

community garden

NATURE USE NATURE PROGRAM USE

residence

sugar house BOTANY AREA

ART USE RESIDENTIAL USE

POND

0

54

200' 400'

600'

Towards a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

COWLES ROAD

AGRICULTURAL LAND USE

nature

C. Habitat is Restored By placing the new education center on the west side of Flanders Road and concentrating development in an already built up area, this plan restores natural areas and wildlife habitat and protects them from human impact. The public presence on the main road provides visibility and accessibility for visitors. Clustering programs around the already developed core improves legibility and wayfinding, giving visitors a clear destination where they learn what the Sanctuary has to offer. With all programs along Flanders Road, there is an opportunity to close Church Hill Road through the Sanctuary and restore the connectivity between the north and south sides of the property. This plan would significantly improve wildlife habitat and water quality.

Concept: Concentration Concentrating development in areas along roadways where buildings already exist lessens the impact on natural areas and reduces human activity near wildlife.

Concentrating program uses enhances the ability of visitors to easily navigate the Sanctuary and its offerings.

Major Features of the Design • Closing Church Hill Road links disconnected habitat and provides a more continuous wildlife corridor.

• Opportunities for passive recreation increase with the protection of an undeveloped natural area.

• A single hub of buildings and parking on Flanders Road provides a clear entry and a visible public presence and increases legibility for new visitors.

• The program core emphasize art, history, and agriculture in their historical locations.

• Moving the director’s residence to the South Farm increases privacy.

Potential Drawbacks • The frequent crossing of Flanders Road by visitors is a safety concern for visitors.

• Public and private zones are close together, reducing privacy for residents.

• Nature programs are removed from the natural setting.

• Building site on the west of Flanders Road is constrained by steep slopes resulting in a smaller buildable area.

• This site would not accommodate further expansion beyond the proposed Nature Center and Parking.

Design Directives 1. Improve safety with a pedestrian crossing zone and traffic calming on Flanders Road.

2. Re-direct traffic around the Sanctuary and off of Church Hill Road.

3. Mitigate runoff with water catchment and infiltration systems to buffer nearby streams from building and parking development.

This concept does not allow for much flexibility in future expansion with topography limiting the buildable area. It also requires costly changes in order to function effectively. While it would greatly benefit the natural resources and wildlife habitat, it does not enhance agricultural use or viability, a primary goal of the Sanctuary.

Section III: Conceptual Design Alternatives

55

Summary These three alternatives explore options for building siting and program expansion that distinctly benefit the mission of Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust. While each alternative emphasizes a certain aspect of the program and mission, all elements of the program are incorporated in each alternative and together they form the basis for a master plan that meets the goals for the project.

Comparison of the Conceptual Alternatives The three initial conceptual designs were presented for feedback to the director and members of the board of the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust. Preliminary concepts were also reviewed by a panel of three professionals as part of the CSLD program.

The general agreement from these reviews was that while the designs each provide strong concepts, none of them fully address all the goals for the master plan. (If the goals or means of the organization change in the future, these concepts could be further explored).

Given the feedback from the reviews and further evaluation of the goals for the Sanctuary, the following concepts and strategies form the foundation for the Master Plan.

1. Renting farmhouses to farmers promotes self-sufficient agricultural enterprises as well as farm education within the agricultural program (Agriculture is the Link).

2. Returning the Studio to an artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residence and working studio and incorporating a gallery and/or outdoor display space for multiple scales and art media enhances the art programming (Art is the Bridge).

3. Moving the Community Garden to utilize prime farmland closer to the Sugar House provides space for community gatherings and opens up farm fields near the North Barn for animal pasture.

4. Locating the new Nature Center close to the nature trails

56

Towards a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

enhances nature programming and highlights the natural features of the Sanctuary.

5. Placing the new building at the center of the property effectively separates public programs from private residences leaving farmhouses to be used for their original purposes.

6. The preferred location for a new building leaves farmland undeveloped, preserving a valuable resource and supporting future agricultural activity.

7. Locating the new building and parking development away from sensitive natural areas supports the mission to model sustainable development, while incorporating recommendations across the property models sustainable management practices and improves the visitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience of the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary.

These ideas are the core recommendations of the Master Plan.

Specific recommendations for particular aspects of the Sanctuary are elaborated in more detail in Section IV.

Section IV

Master Plan Design and Recommendations

Preferred Alternative: Toward a Continuing Landscape

This section contains a preferred design for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary and a series of recommendations for improving visitor experience, modeling the highest standards in ecological and sustainable land management and building, and mitigating the impacts of development. It is important to understand that the recommendations in this section are not contingent on a new building, though some specifically address the design and construction of a new building.

While the preferred plan is designed to function as a whole with the new building, the recommendations can and should be implemented prior to construction to expediently meet the goals of the Nature Center.

A Vision for a Continuing Landscape Approaching the Sanctuary via Flanders Road from the north, you come to a well-kept farm set in a pastoral landscape. As you slow down to get a closer look at the sheep in the pasture, you approach an intersection and see a very old farmhouse surrounded by a white picket fence. A hand-wrought painted sign welcomes you to the Flanders Nature Center.

Turning left onto a narrow dirt road flanked by stone walls, you glimpse a group of artists painting on a hillside and a lively group of children exploring the edges of the marsh. You pass through a gateway and sense that you have entered a special place. You are greeted by views through the trees to productive farm fields

58

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

and buildings tucked away from the road. A family out enjoying the sunshine and pulling weeds from their plot in the Community Garden waves to you as you pass.

Pulling through a gap in the stone walls into the parking area, you are intrigued by a garden of wildflowers along the western side of the lot. As you walk over to take a picture, you notice a sign that explains the function of a bioswale to treat stormwater. You are surrounded by woodlands, gardens and look up to see the view across the Connecticut landscape, looking over fields and farmsteads.

Entering the Nature Center you are greeted by friendly faces and overhear kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; voices chattering in the classroom. You are told about more of the features of the Sanctuary which include a nut arboretum, the Botany Trail with rare flowers, the pond where salamanders breed, and the traprock geology unique to Connecticut.

You spend the rest of the day exploring the Sanctuary, and remark as you return to your car that it was a day well spent. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to come back and take a hike on that trail you missed and see how the lambs have grown.

Gateways Main gateways at the intersections of Flanders and Church Hill Road and Cowles and Church Hill Road announce transition points into the Sanctuary and also enhance the Van Vleck Sanctuary identity through repetition on a smaller scale at the other hubs.

Circulation Roads bringing visitors to the Sanctuary are used much as they are presently, and Church Hill Road continues to serve as a main access road within the Sanctuary. A parking lot at the new Nature Center provides the primary parking for the whole of the Sanctuary.

This reduces the need for parking at the Sugar House so near to wetlands and at the existing lot south of the Van Vleck farmhouse off Flanders Road. Concentrating public parking encourages walking between destinations at the Sanctuary.

Preferred Alternative Toward a Continuing Landscape

FLA ERS

ND E. ME

Entry Gateway

ADOW

minor gateway

MARSH

AD RO

LEGEND

working farm

BROOK

Access Road Farm Road

ART WALK

Hiking Trail AGRICULTURAL LAND USE

NATURE CENTER L ROAD CHURCH HIL

COWLES ROAD

Main Gateway

AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS NATURE USE

working farm

COMMUNITY GARDEN

NATURE PROGRAM USE ART USE RESIDENTIAL USE

Main Gateway

BOTANY AREA POND

See details for the Nature Center, Art Walk, and Community Garden below.

Section IV: Master Plan Design and Recommendations

59

Nature Center Site Detail nut arboretum

old farm ro ad

wilderness trails

Parking

nature Center

Church hill road 0' 100'

This detail illustrates a potential building and parking footprint.The building is 6,000 square feet and parking is 200 by 240 feet, with enough space for a bus to pull in and turn around, and 40 car and 3 buses to park.

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Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Nature Center Site This plan allows for the possibility to site a new building in either of two locations. There has been ample research and evaluation of Flandersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; preliminary proposed site in Section II outlining its benefits and constraints. Therefore, the alternative site is shown here with the recommendation that it should be explored in greater detail. This would include a professional evaluation for the feasibility of locating a septic system, and a survey for use in additional building and site design including placing parking and bioswales, and allowing for handicap access.

Some of the features of the Sanctuary that the alternative building site takes advantage of include an old farm road that already provides a break in the stone walls that line the road. With the tree canopy opening to the south over the road, minimal additional clearing would be required to allow natural light to reach the building. The Nature Center location has access to existing trailheads, and to the Wilderness Trail system, and is close to the nut arboretum.

There are two meadows and beehives to the north, all increasing opportunities for education and enjoyment.

Art Walk The Trail House has been transformed into a classroom for arts and crafts and Natalieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s studio has become the home of a resident artist.

These two buildings are connected by an art walk featuring outdoor sculpture and providing an opportunity to take in the natural beauty of the landscape and the creations of those who came before.

Community Garden The detail of the Community Garden shows how the Sugar House would look nestled within the garden and serving as a gathering space for work parties and potlucks.

Possible Drawbacks • There is no bus parking at the North Barn. If farm programs continue to take place at this hub, buses will turn onto Church Hill Road to drop off students and a seven-minute walk or a hay wagon will take them up the farm road to the North Barn.

• Emphasizing program uses in the center of the property reduces public presence and visibility on Flanders Road.

• Locating the main program hub at the center of the property reduces the current program emphasis of the North Barn hub.

The program emphasis will likely shift to nature education with heavier use in the Wilderness Trail area.

Design Directives 1. Provide effective directional signs on all roads leading to the Sanctuary. Provide clear direction for visitors, especially first time users, from Flanders Road and Cowles Roads to the public core.

2. Provide clear signs and directions between buildings and destinations, especially given the distance between the working farms and the Nature Center.

3. Mitigate runoff and other negative effects of development for any activities near sensitive areas such as streams, ponds, and wetlands.

4. Monitor for negative impacts of heavier use of the Wilderness Trails on that part of the Sanctuary.

Art Walk Detail

Art walk artist studio

trail house Art Classroom

0' 100'

Community Garden Detail community garden sugar house

BOTANY AREA

POND 0' 100'

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Entry Experience In the preferred design, gateways announce arrival, provide a point of transition into the Sanctuary, and create Sanctuary identity.

Gates, Gateways, and Partitions All gateways signal a point of transition. Functionally, a gateway creates a pause between outside and inside, limiting access while providing a opportunity for glimpsing what is inside. Many landscape elements can function as a gatewayâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a gap in trees, buildings, a break in walls, bridges and signs.

Main gateways should establish the character of the site and give a clear message of transition and passage. The scale of landscape elements used to define main gateways should give a clear message of this transition.

Stone walls and trees can effectively function as a gateway.

Gateway Description and Assessment The current main gateways at Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary need emphasis. Since Church Hill Road bisects the property and is used as a cut through from Flanders to Cowles Road, it contributes to a confusing visitor experience. Large-scale landscape elements such as stone walls with plantings and signs would signal arrival on the eastern and western boundaries of the sanctuary. A main gateway would also help to slow through-traffic by signaling that one is within a nature sanctuary where children and wildlife are present.

A repetition of gateway elements on a smaller scale at the building hubs would create a hierarchy of gateways that would add to a sense of overall cohesiveness. The existing trail gateways function well and need no further emphasis.

Recommendations Create a hierarchy of gateways by emphasizing the main gateways at intersections of Flanders and Church Hill Road and Cowles and Church Hill Road. Establish minor gateways at North Farm, Trail House, Sugar House and new building hubs.

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Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Trail markers on the Botany Trail help visitors find their way.

Wayfinding and Signs

Example gateway for Cowles and Church Hill road intersection with effective sign and landscape elements.

Wayfinding provides orientation and gives visitors a sense of the spatial organization of a site. Visitor experience is enhanced by a sense of confidence in oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to navigate a site. Landmarks, signs, and maps promote wayfinding.

Signs not only enhance wayfinding and gateways, but are also important elements of cohesive site identity and institutional recognition. They convey information and provide instructions and direction.

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Signs are inconsistent in style, color, font, and materials. Some signs are well placed and clearly direct visitors, while others are redundant and add confusion.

Main gateway at the corner of Church Hill and Flanders Road lacks emphasis. Sign is too small for the main gateway.

Paint and labels have worn off and little information is supplied by this large structure that could be used much more effectively.

Multiple signs in front of the Studio intended to direct visitors lack hierarchy in size or placement, making them confusing.

The large informational sign in the Studio parking lot is used more as a billboard than as an interpretive tool for first-time visitors.

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Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Sign Description and Assessment Three programmatic hubs and multiple trailheads create confusion for first-time visitors needing clear direction about program location and points of interest. The current signs at the corner of Flanders and Church Hill Road are meant to indicate arrival and give direction to visitors. These signs lack cohesiveness in their design style and color. Directions are divided onto multiple signs, resulting in a lack of legibility. Throughout the property there is little uniformity in sign design and multiple signs without distinct informational hierarchy.

Existing trail markers are legible, provide clear direction and should be maintained.

Recommendations for Signs To improve entry experience and legibility, information should be simplified, consolidated, and sited effectively for its intended purpose. Information should be presented in the simplest manner possible with a clear hierarchy. Fewer and simpler signs are more effective than multiple signs. Too much information can confuse and overwhelm first-time visitors and is unnecessary for those who know the site.

All signs at the Sanctuary and Flanders Land Trust properties should be a uniform design with consistent color, font, and materials to provide organizational recognition for visitors and the community.

They should be designed with a clear hierarchy of information with the most important information being location and essential directions for navigating the property.

Gateway Interpretation Providing one central trailhead or visitors center would improve visitor experience and facilitate a better understanding of the Sanctuary layout and its programs, as well as the opportunities on other Flanders property. This information should be located in all the main parking areas as well as at the Nature Center. Information should be consistent across the Sanctuary, and include basic map with site information, trail rules, and expectations.

These building signs exemplify consistent sign design, which unites all buildings, indicating that they are part of one whole.

Example of the type of interpretive sign that could be effective at the gateway or main arrival area. Information should be simple and clear.

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This sign used to be in front of Nature Center and could be repurposed or serve as a template for the new entry sign.

Entry/Gateway • Location should give appropriate response time to drivers.

• Signs need to have clear sightlines and be visible to traffic moving in both directions.

• Signs should be large and bold enough to be legible from a distance.

• Signs should announce arrival and direct visitors to their destination.

• Signs should be lighted for nighttime visibility according to Dark Sky Initiative standard. (See Resources, Section IV.) A sign designed by Natalie Van Vleck could serve as a template for new sign design.

Aesthetics and Style Sign aesthetics and style play an important role in site identity and recognition. Signs should reflect the character and history of the institution. Natalie designed and built many of the original signs. She utilized her graphic and artistic training very effectively and created signs that were legible and reflected the character and mission of the organization. Her signs could be used as a template for new signs. This would define the aesthetic style of all the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trusts signs and maintain the distinctive qualities Natalie brought to the place.

This type of sign is needed at the corner of Flanders and Church Hill Road and at the Church Hill, Cowles Road intersection.

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Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Types of Signs and Placement • Entry/Gateway • Navigation (maps) • Interpretation • Directional signs for roads and trails • Labels for structures • Labels for plants

Outdoor Lighting There is currently a lack of outdoor lighting at the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary. Providing outdoor lighting in areas used for evening programming would improve visitors’ sense of security and enhance experience of the property. The Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust has an opportunity and a responsibility to balance visitors’ need for lighting and the need to reduce its effect on wildlife and the night sky.

This can be done by: • Only lighting areas used for nighttime programming • Turning lights off when they are not needed • Using lights that point downward to reduce their effect on the night sky (For more information see www.darksky.org) Timers and motion detectors should be researched to determine their impact on the specific wildlife found on site Recommendation Careful analysis in the site design process should include a needs assessment to ensure lighting is restricted to areas where light is essential to the visitor experience. An inventory of the wildlife found in the area and their sensitivity to light should be used to determine the kinds of systems that will least affect species found on site.

Recommendations for parking include improvements for usability, ecological impact, and appearance.

Providing outdoor lighting in areas used for evening programming would improve visitors’ sense of security and enhance experience of the property.

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Ecological Development Green Building

Imagine a new Nature Center with sunlight streaming into the meeting room and offices that staff can work in fully lit all day without turning on a light switch. Imagine a sunny winter day and the classroom is toasty warm, there are no drafts, and the heat hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been turned up. Imagine taking a group of school kids outside to see a garden of native plants thriving and tell them that they live on the water that goes down the drain after they wash their hands.

Imagine telling visitors that the wooden beams and the stone steps were made from materials that came from the Sanctuary.

There are numerous green building techniques and principles that could be considered for a new building. The following are simple yet very effective ways that green buildings could directly benefit the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary and help to meet Flandersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mission.

Illustration of daylit atrium

Daylighting Lighting is one of the biggest energy costs in buildings. Using ample daylight to light a building can reduce energy use by up to 75-80 percent according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Studies show that employees are more productive and students learn better when working in natural as opposed to artificial light.

Locally-harvested materials: wood and stone According to the management plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary completed by a Connecticut certified forester in 1999, commercial stands of timber on the property should be harvested periodically. As part of a 10-year update to the management plan, forest stands should be evaluated for the potential of harvesting suitable timber to be used in building construction. In addition to timber, the prevalence of stone at the Sanctuary and in the region makes it a viable building material to consider as well. The historical

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Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

precedence and aesthetic character of stone in walls and other construction adds to its suitability as a building material.

Super-insulated construction Heating and cooling are the other major energy users in buildings, especially in cold northern climates like western Connecticut.

Insulation is an easy and low-cost way to save energy and operating costs in buildings. When accompanied by an efficient air exchange system, the building has the potential to be more comfortable for employees and visitors.

Non-toxic construction Given the function that the new administration and education building will serve, namely housing offices for staff to use on a daily basis and classrooms for children and adults, it is important to consider indoor air quality and the use of non-toxic materials and finishes. Paints, upholstery, furnishings and other materials that people come in direct contact with can contain harsh chemicals to which children and others may experience sensitivity.

Rainwater catchment and treatment As with impervious parking and road surfaces, buildings also create increased run-off which can lead to erosion. Rainwater can easily be collected off rooftops by gutters and stored to use on plants and gardens, whether inside or out, in times of drought. Rain gardens specifically could be used to catch and infiltrate large amounts of water in heavy rainstorms, lessening the impact of erosion as well. In addition to rainwater, graywater treatment systems that incorporate native plants can be used to filter water from sinks separately or in conjunction with a septic system, before it is released into the environment.

Cost The Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust has cited upfront costs as the main guideline determining the incorporation of many green

building principles in the new education and administration building.

However, with the cost of energy and transportation rising rapidly and showing no sign of slowing in the future, there are numerous benefits to building green, including cost savings. Recent examples of sustainable construction were comparable to standard building cost, or averaged about 5 percent higher. Incorporating simple energy-saving measures would reduce operating cost over the life of the building, while creating a more beautiful and healthy work environment.

Site protection during construction Even though the construction phase is of short duration, it can have very destructive impact on the vegetation and hydrology of a site. Care should be given to mitigate both the effects of erosion and sediment loss on water quality. Phasing construction with minimal clearing and grading and covering exposed soils with mulch or vegetation are the most effective approaches. Silt fences and vegetative barriers can be used as well but should be used as a secondary measure. Flagging and fencing existing vegetation prevents needless damage and protects hydrology.

Sediment and erosion controls should be implemented during construction.

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Parking and Stormwater Management Bioswales and Rain Gardens As with building roof runoff, parking lots increase surface runoff resulting in erosion. This is especially true in large storm events and during spring thaws. Runoff from parking lots also contains pollutants from oils, gasoline, and other automotive chemicals, which can be carried into streams and groundwater. Bioswales and rain gardens planted with native plants collect and filter runoff, preventing both erosion and pollution, and reducing negative impact to streams and groundwater. The use of native plants can provide beautiful landscape elements as well as be educational tools to teach about the importance of wetlands, native plant species, and the negative impacts of automobiles.

A vegetative buffer or bioswale would mitigate the effects of parking in sensitive areas and serve as an educational tool for visitors.

North Farm Parking should be limited to six to eight cars and farm vehicles due to the proximity to East Meadow Brook. Grading and laying gravel or other semi-permeable road base should be considered to reduce erosion and mud and to pull water away from buildings. Parking on agricultural lands causes compaction and changes the soil structure and should be avoided.

Stone walls provide good visual screens from the road and help to mitigate surface runoff. Planting buffers such as bioswales to the east could help control runoff, and capture and filter pollutants to protect nearby East Meadow Brook. Plantings could also give definition to where parking is allowed.

Flanders Road/Church Hill Road Intersection Screening parking from view from the directorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farm house would enhance visual appearance. A visual buffer from the roads would lessen confusion about where visitors should park. Given the

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Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

proximity to East Meadow Brook, the addition of bioswales here as well would help to mitigate impact to sensitive ecosystems.

When the new Nature Center and administration building is built, this area will require far less parking. At that point it may be possible to re-vegetate this area.

Any new or expanded parking lots should be located away from sensitive wetlands. Road and parking surfaces should remain semi-permeable and runoff should be captured and filtered with bioswales, rain gardens, or other catchment systems.

East Meadow Brook flowing from the marsh just before it enters a culvert and runs beneath Church Hill Road.

A rain garden is a depression in the ground designed to collect and infiltrate water. It is then planted with native plants to assist in the absorption and filtration of water. Species that prefer wet to moist conditions are planted at the bottom and those that prefer dry conditions around the edges.

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Stone Walls

According to the Stone Wall Initiative (SWI) website, there are three broad categories of stone walls: abandoned or wild, heritage and recent-rebuilt.

Abandoned or wild walls are often found in reforested areas and are “tumbled and damaged, occupy large land tracts, covered by lichens and moss and seldom made of quarried stone.” These are archeological walls that also serve ecological function (Stone Wall Initiative, Thorson). .

Heritage walls are also referred to as “historic walls” and they are “moderately well built, often contain quarried stone, surround known estates and tracts, grace old roads, mentioned in original historic documents” (Thorson).

Recent and rebuilt walls usually are remade portions of old walls or new wall construction. They are linked to 20-21st century structures, are made of imported or quarried stone, by living masons, and are especially well-crafted walls (Thorson).

Abandoned wall along Wilderness Trail

The Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary is laced with stone walls. These walls reveal both the cultural and geologic history of the place. Stone walls also provide important habitat for wildlife in the area. For all these reasons it is recommended that they be protected. Currently there are no state or regional regulations for stone walls. This leaves the protection of stone walls in the hands of individuals, communities, and organizations, like Flanders to create regulations and educate the community about the preservation of this resource.

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Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Management Recommendations Abandoned Walls • Leave them be. They are habitat for wildlife and stabilize surface soils, preventing erosion and silt from entering wetlands.

• Minimize the number of cuts made through them for driveways, roads, gates.

• Do not use them as strip mines for other walls.

Heritage Walls • Identify any occurrences (especially old foundations). This is equivalent to finding an archaeological site.

• Inventory based on some naming protocols. (See the taxonomy in Exploring Stone Walls by Robert Thorson.)

• Develop an understanding regarding who is responsible for each

item on the inventory.

• Develop a plan for maintaining and protecting them that includes base-line photos and descriptions.

• Contact the Office of the State Archaeologist.

Recent and Rebuilt • Recommend against the importation of stone strip-mined from old walls.

• Recommend building them following local folk-art traditions.

• Encourage use of dry-stone techniques for walls being rebuilt on site.

• Encourage rebuilding one section at a time to maintain dry stone habitat.

Abandoned wall along the Wilderness Trail

The Stone Wall Initiative recommends that non-profit organizations such as land trusts put “stone wall preservation on meeting agendas and adopt positions on specific issues” such as preservation of stone walls on all land trust properties. With a policy on stone wall management Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust would also serve as a model for other community organizations and individuals.

Educational Recommendations • Partnership with education programs for children through Stone Wall Initiative. (Refer to education on their website.)

• Workshops for adults on building and maintenance of stone walls.

Well maintained stone wall by the director’s farmhouse

Design Implications The stone walls at the Sanctuary serve as partitions, landmarks, erosion barriers, and wildlife habitat. Any alteration to existing stone walls should be done under consultation with Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation and the Office of the State Archeologist.

See Section IV Resources; Stone Walls, for additional information and websites.

Heritage wall by the director’s farmhouse and Studio

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Agriculture

The Community Garden

The Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary has a vibrant agriculture education program, community garden, maple sugar program, beekeeping, and hay production. Of the two farms, North and South Farm, only North Farm is being used for agriculture education from spring through fall.

The prevalence of prime agriculture soil and open, productive farmland along with Flandersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; commitment to agriculture preservation suggests that agriculture continue to be promoted to protect this important natural resource and agricultural lifestyle.

Farmland should be maintained and farmed according to best management practices to meet wetland regulations and organic standards.

-

Agriculture education

Maple Sugaring Program

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Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Recommendations for Agriculture Resident Farmer Program The North and South Farms of the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary provide excellent opportunities to supplement existing agricultural programs, which include sugaring, community garden, hay production and agriculture education for school groups. These farms could provide farmers seeking land with a place to work in partnership with Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust.

The resident farm program could be structured in many different ways. A working farm on the Sanctuary could enhance community educational opportunities through partnership with the Nonnewaug High School Agriscience program, one of nineteen regional programs in Connecticut. Currently this program has a waiting list of students who are hoping to pursue a career in agriculture. Resident farmers at Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary could support the enhancement and expansion of educational and internship opportunities.

The possibilities of providing school-age children both a place to experience a working farm in their formative years and a place to perhaps become a farmer could help remediate the local patterns of loss of farms and farmers. Establishing a way for young farmers to stay connected with the greater Woodbury community

creates a link from the agricultural past to a future where agriculture is once again a viable component of the Woodbury community.

With more agricultural opportunities for young people, perhaps the current demographic trend of a thirty-five percent loss of young residents in the twenty to thirty-four year old age group could be reversed.

See Section IV Resources; Agriculture for additional recommendations and websites.

Land Management The 1999 Stewardship Implementation Plan (SIP) has been implemented with a recommended follow up evaluation in ten years, which should be done this year (2009). The following information comes from that document to summarize existing conditions and recommendations. This SIP reports that the property has been “superbly managed over the last thirty or more years for conservation, habitat improvement, recreation and environment education and forest health” (SIP, Ferucci).

The SIP document identified the following goals: • Protect the soil and water resources on this and adjacent properties.

• Enhance the property’s appearance and utility for recreation.

• Maintain a diverse wildlife habitat, with emphasis on species which can tolerate the level of activities associated with the Flanders Nature Center.

• Improve the health and vigor of the dominant tree cover, generally through techniques designed to maintain individual tree growth.

• Return income to defray some of the property management and improvement cost.

Springtime at Flanders Pond, painting by Robert Andrew Parker

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Trail Management

Trails lead us into the landscape

Children using the trail near the Trail House

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Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

The trails were evaluated in the SIP as being both capable of handling current use and also providing one of the finest trail networks in Connecticut (Ferucci). Trails are â&#x20AC;&#x153;varied, well-marked, well maintained and traverse an incredible diversity of terrain and habitat types in a relatively small area.â&#x20AC;?

The SIP reported that the trails are capable of accommodating increased use. Pedestrian-only trail standards recommend that trails receiving the heaviest use should be six to eight feet wide and have wood or other mulch applied to level trails and prevent erosion. Trails should be regularly monitored for wear and erosion, and repaired.

This plan recommends that trails in sensitive areas be built to prevent damage. Boardwalks are particularly effective in wetlands or areas where soil compaction is especially harmful. Trails in sensitive areas should also be evaluated for redundancy and minimized to lessen their footprint and overall impact while still allowing access.

Art Recommendations for an Art Trail The artistic legacy of Natalie Van Vleck is still visible in the art programs offered at the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary. This legacy is one of the elements that makes Flanders unique and should be emphasized and enhanced. Creating a trail with an art theme would develop a new destination and speak to the way landscape shapes both our expressions of and interactions with the natural world.

The trail could be sited to bridge the historic core of the property on Flanders Road with the new Nature Center, bringing visitors to Natalieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resting place with its breathtaking view of the Sanctuary. Art inspired by the landscape would be sited along the trail, emphasizing the power of artistic expression to connect people with place.

While living on the farm, Natalie was inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement and created functional pieces to meet the needs of her daily life. She made signs and furniture in her studio and wood shop. The Art Trail would be an ideal location to showcase handmade signs and benches crafted by local artists or resident artists.

Recommendations for an Artist in Residence Program The Studio at Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary could provide residence and studio space for an artist in residence program. In general residencies offer artists access to living and working space and provide them with the opportunity to focus on their work with little distraction.

There are many artists in residence programs in this country and around the world. They are diverse in their size and focus requirements and in the support they provide. Most residencies range from two weeks to one year. Some are well endowed and offer stipends while in others, the artist pays to participate. Many smaller programs host a few artists for a longer period of time.

Sketch of Before the Mirror by Andy Goldsworthy, 1987 Part of a major international environmental art movement, Andy Goldsworthy creates site-specific pieces made of natural materials that eventually disintegrate and return to their natural state.With an abundance of natural materials at hand, this concept would work well on the Sanctuary.

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In exchange for the use of facilities and to supplement their income, the artist often teaches classes and workshops. It is very common for an artist to leave a piece of art created while in residence for the permanent collection. Some programs require this in exchange for the opportunity to be a resident, and other programs have a tradition of accepting gifts from the artist they have hosted. Artists get the benefit of listing their work as being in the permanent collection of the institution.

An artist in residence program at the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary could be structured in many different ways. The first step would be to determine what the institution can offer an artist and what they would expect from them in return. The length of residencies should be determined; two weeks to one year is customary. The current facilities will determine which media the artist can use at the Sanctuary. The studio could easily accommodate a painter or writer with little work or equipment needed.

Functional art can be created using materials from the Sanctuary.

Site-specific design and local materials result in objects that seamlessly emerge from the landscape. Sketch of bench created by Dan Snow, Vermont-based dry-laid stone waller, artist, and writer.

Recommendations An application and review process would need to be created. If the resident artist is required or offered the opportunity to teach, that would need to be incorporated into the existing programs. Artists who participate should be creating work that is supportive of the vision of the organization in both product and process.

An artist in residence program could create a niche for the Sanctuary in a community that values the arts, and provide an important continuity to Natalieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legacy.

See Section IV, Resources; Art, for additional information and websites.

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Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

In Conclusion

The Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary introduces the visitor to all the featuresâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the fields, the streams and ponds, the farm houses, barns, and gardensâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that makes this protected landscape sacred. This landscape, hosting an interaction of humans and the natural environment, provides opportunities for education, community involvement, and conservation. This master plan enhances the program offerings while protecting the features of the landscape that support people, animals, plants, and communities.

There are places for large gatherings and for quiet contemplation. In a continuing landscape, the history of the place and the people who came before are still visible, the present stewards thrive, and the next generation is given the resources to take the Sanctuary into the future. In this way, the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust can move the greater Woodbury community toward a continuing landscape.

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Resources Section 1 History and Context Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition. www.pomperaug.org. A regional partnership dedicated to preserving watershed quality.

The Working The Land Project. www.workingtheland.com. Website on Connecticut farming, food, culture and land use.

Town of Woodbury website. www.woodburyct.org.

Comprehensive information on demographics, government, regulations and planning.

Section II Inventory and Analysis Vegetation: Invasive Plants of New England. http://nbii-nin.ciesin. columbia.edu/ipane/ctcouncil/CT_Invasive_Plant_List. htm. Recommendations for invasive plant management.

Section IV Master Plan and Recommendations Agriculture: Connecticut Farmland Trust, www.ctfarmland.org.

A list of links and partnerships that provides networks for agriculture education, preservation and farming initiatives.

Land Sake, Weston, MA, www.landsake.org.

CSA, working farm, agriculture education.

Tregellys Fiber Farm, Hawley, MA www.tregellysfiber. com. Working fiber farm, weaving and retail for products.

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Buildings: Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, www.cttrust.org. Provides guidelines for historic preservation and restoration.

Art:

Greenmuseum.org. An online museum for environmental art that provides toolkits for education and organizations wanting to include art in their program.

Res Artis. www.resartis.org. An online network of Artist-in-

Residence programs around the world.

Dan Snow, http://inthecompanyofstone.blogspot.com.

Vermont-based stone mason and author. Workshops and lectures on stone wall art and construction.

Lighting: Dark Sky Initiative. www.darksky.org. Recommendations

and sources for lighting fixtures that meet Dark Sky Initiative

standards.

Stone Walls: Stone Wall Initiative, www.stonewall.uconn.edu.

Resource for “promotion, appreciation and preservation”

of New England’s stone walls. Provides resources

for non-profits, homeowners.

References Alexander, Christopher, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein. A

Pattern Language, Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford

University Press, 1977.

Allen, Danielle and Ian Warner. Protecting Water Quality Through

Better Site Design: A handbook for stormwater management in

the Mid-Hudson Valley. Conway School of Landscape Design,

2006.

Center for Land Use and Research at University of Connecticut.

<http:www.clear.uconn.edu>.

Clouette, Bruce, Robert Thorson and Walter Woodward.

Working The Land Project: Interviews with State Historians

on Agricultureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Significance. Winter 2009. <http:// www.workingtheland.com>.

Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust. The Case for Flanders Nature

Center and Land Trust, Draft 2. February 10, 2009.

Flink, Charles A., Kristine Olka and Robert M. Searns. Trails for the

Twenty-First Century, Planning, Design, and Management

Manual for Multi-Use Trails. 2nd ed. Island Press, 2001.

Frew, Alan (Whitey). Interview. Oral History Program.

Hart, Henry, P. E. Telephone Interview. 15 March 2009.

Henri, Robert, Marian Wardle and Sarah Burns, American Woman

Modernists. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 2005.

Highstead Arboretum,<http://highsteadarboretum.org>. March 2009.

Kaplan, Rachel, Stephen Kaplan and Robert L. Ryan, With People In Mind, Design and Management for Everyday Nature. Island

Press,1998.

Davenport, Bill. Interviews with Experts, Advocates and Policymakers on

Food, Farming and the Land. <http://www.workingtheland.

com>.

Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition. State of the Watershed Report

<http://www.pomperaug.org/organization. html>.

Falk, Peter Hastings. Natalie Van Vleck: A Life in Art and Nature. Sound

View Press, 1992.

Shand, Dawne, Not Set In Stone. <http://www.preservationnation.

org/magazine/story-of-the-week/2008/not-set-in-stone.

html>.

Ferucci, Mike, Stewardship Incentive Plan for the Van Vleck Farm

Sanctuary of the Flanders Nature Center, Ferucci and

Walicki, LLC. March 1999.

Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust, Newsletter, Fall 2004,

<http://.flandersnaturecenter.org/content/2004_fall_5.pdf>.

Thorson, Robert. Stone Wall Initiative.

<http://www.stonewall.uconn.edu.>.

U.S. Department of Agriculture. National Resource Conservation

Service. The Plant Database. <http://plants.usda.gov.>. 15

March 2009.

Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust.

<http://www.flandersnaturecenter.org>. Winter 2009.

Section IV: Master Plan Design and Recommendations

81

Image Credits Images courtesy of Michael R. Amodeo Photography. All photographs copyrighted and used with permission.

Page 3: Image of sheep and gate. Image of tractor.

Page 6: Image of meadow and North Barn.

Page 11: Image of plant detail. Image of meadow. Image of tractor.

Page 22: Image of wildflowers on Botany Trail.

Page 28: Image of Sugar House.

Page 31: Image of fields and forest.

Page 35: Image of tractor.

Page 39: Image of North Barn and tractor.

Page 59: Image of cabbage. Image of tractor. Image of sheep.

Page 76: Except images of sugar buckets and of evaporator.

Other Credits: Pages 4, 6: Falk, Peter Hastings. Natalie Van Vleck: A Life in Art and Nature. Sound View Press, 1992 courtesy Page 33: Image of oriental bittersweet courtesy of James R.

Allison, Georgia Department of Natural Resources

<www.bugwood.org>.

Image of garlic mustard and Russian olive courtesy of Chris

Evans, River to River CWMA <www.bugwood.org>.

Image of multiflora rose and winged euonymous courtesy

of James H.Miller. USDA Forest Service <www.bugwood.

org>.

82

Image of Japanese barberry courtesy of Britt Slattery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service <www.bugwood.org>.

Toward a Continuing Landscape: A Master Plan for the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary

Page 15: Map of western Connecticut.

Pages 21, 24, 25: Aerial photography.

Courtesy of LiveSearch Maps, Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

<http://maps.live.com> All other images courtesy of Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust or by the authors.

Maps on pages 11,12, 14, 27, 28, 29, 30, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46 were created by the authors and were based on: Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary site maps courtesy of Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust.

The Map and Geographic Information Center, University of Connecticut Library. <http://www.magic.lib.uconn.edu./>. 2009.

Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.

<http://www.ct.gov/dep/site/default.asp.>. 2009.

Center for Land Use and Research at University of Connecticut (CLEAR) < http://clear.uconn.edu/data/ct_dem/index.htm>.

Processed by Council of Governments of the Central Naugatuck Valley. 2009.

Acknowledgements We would like to thank the board members and staff of Flanders Nature and Land Trust, and especially board president Anne Westerman and Flandersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; executive director Arthur Milnor. We are grateful to the members of the Woodbury community who gave us important information at our public meeting.

Special thanks to our formal presentation critics, Liz Vizza, Glenn Motzkin, and Reid Bertone-Johnson, for the advice and direction they offered.

We wish to acknowledge Henry Hart, P. E. LLC and David Vreeland, P. E. for their advice on soils and septic systems, Glenda Prentiss, Regional GIS co-ordinator for assistance with maps, and Mike Amodeo for sharing his beautiful photographs of the Sanctuary.

This project would not have been possible without the patience, guidance, and encouragement of the CSLD faculty.

The mission of the Conway School of Landscape Design is to explore, develop, practice, and teach design of the land that is ecologically and socially sustainable.

The Conway School of Landscape Design 332 South Deerfield Road, Conway Massachusetts 01341