Fresh Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary, or "Fresh Meadows", is one of CLT's marquee properties.  It is located in southeast Cheshire, on the north side of Cook Hill Road, just east of Elim Park and the Mill River. It's one of our most well-known and frequented properties.

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Fresh Meadows is an important natural area in the Mill River Watershed. Its meadows and emergent forests are really two properties. CLT owns 32.8 acres adjoining 10 acres owned by Elim Park that CLT manages. Fresh Meadows offers a well defined network of trails for easy walking in a natural setting making this open space an ideal place for all age groups. The diverse property includes mowed meadow, a forested ridge, Mill River frontage, seasonal wetlands, and a peat bog (former farm pond). 

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Wildlife inventory include:  Bluebird, Flycatcher (phoebe), Barred Owl, Screech Owl, Great Horned Owl, Baltimore Oriole, Cedar Waxwing, Pileated Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, Woodcock, Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Great Blue Heron.

Bobcat, Raccoon, Opposum, White-tail Deer, Wild Turkey, Red Fox

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Prohibited: Horseback riding, bicycles, motorized vehicles, fires
Dogs on-leash are welcome at this time. Please pick-up after your dog and dispose of properly.

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Background History

Development can often come at a price. For Edward Tufte and other concerned citizens living around a proposed subdivision, the land's development was too high a price, and so began their efforts to organize and raise money to purchase the property and donate it to the Cheshire Land Trust.

"Fresh Meadows" was a name given much of south Cheshire by early settlers who farmed the low-lying, sparsely forested land along the Mill River. A tribute to an earlier respect for the land, Fresh Meadows is one of the Land Trust's most visible and accessible properties.

 

CLT has worked vigorously to maintain trails and managed areas, permitting public access while protecting the plants and animals that live there. Among other animals, the property is wildly popular for birding.  It's also an excellent place to see a progression of wildflowers over the course of the growing season.