Land Trust expands Nightingale Forest
POMFRET — The Wyndham Land Trust recently acquired a 360-acre parcel in Pomfret that expands their Nightingale Forest preserve to 1,600 acres of unbroken forested land. The property was owned by the Saunders family for almost 90 years and will provide a vital wildlife corridor between the existing Townshend and DiIorio sections of the Nightingale Forest. It will be known as the “Laurelwood Preserve,” a section of the Nightingale Forest Preserve.
The Wyndham Land Trust was formed in 1975 and now protects over 7,600 acres in Northeastern Connecticut. The work of the land trust is possible through the generosity and dedication of its members, and donors. To learn more about the Wyndham Land Trust visit wyndhamlandtrust.org. You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
“My grandfather, Augustus Saunders, an executive at the Nicholson File Company in Rhode Island, purchased the property with his son, Lloyd, around 1940,” said Claudia Abbott. “Lloyd Saunders, my father, built a kit log cabin called Laurelwood, and it’s where I grew up. I moved back with my husband, Bill Abbott, about 25 years ago.
“My two sons and I had the same vision: save the property from development. Any land that goes up for sale these days gets a house put on it, or as many houses as the zoning allows. We didn’t want to see that. In order to protect our privacy, we redrew the property lines to create a lot that included our house along with Nightingale Pond and a protective border around its edge. The remaining land was transferred to the Land Trust. Navigating the process was daunting for me, but with the expertise, guidance, and patience of Andy Rzeznikiewicz [Land Trust land manager], our family’s vision became well defined. And so Laurelwood Preserve was born.”
“I first started an informal conversation with Bill and Claudia Abbott many years ago,” said Rzeznikiewicz. “We knew it was a valuable parcel to protect. It’s all woodland and important for forest interior nesting birds that are threatened in Connecticut because of habitat loss. 

True forest birds, those that are not adapted to disturbed or suburban habitat, breed only in large tracts of forest that are not fragmented. It also contains some valuable wetlands, and two streams traverse the property—Angel Brook and Nightingale Brook.”
The discussion between the Abbott family and the Wyndham Land Trust became serious in the summer of 2024, after Rzeznikiewicz laid out the pathway to protect the forest.
“We applied for an Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition (OSWA) grant from CT DEEP that helped to close the transaction,” Rzeznikiewicz added, “but the process took a couple of years to complete. Fortunately for us, the family was willing to wait for us to secure the funding. The acquisition was also funded by member donations as well as grants from the Bafflin and Summerhill Foundations.”
Claudia Abbott feels that the act of protecting the land is honoring the memory of her grandfather and father—Augustus and Lloyd Saunders.
“When I drive to the property, I have tears of joy knowing that this beautiful area will remain in its natural state,” said Abbott. “It’s such a relief.”

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EMS Update
The EMS crews are settled into their new building on Church Street. The last piece of “skirt” around the manufactured building was installed last week. The official welcome will be held after some renovations to the original building are completed. Vehicles and equipment are still in the original building. Linda Lemmon photo

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Academy kicks off capital campaign
WOODSTOCK — Members of the Woodstock Academy community kicked off its next major capital campaign: ONWARD. 
Through ONWARD, the school will invest in new tennis courts, expanded parking at Loos CFA, new turf on Kelly Field and at Bentley Athletic Complex, a renovated track, and a future Student Commons on South Campus. 
Work begins on the parking expansion project next week, and the tennis courts, Kelly Field, and track projects are all scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
For info: www.woodstockacademy.org/giving/onward

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