MIDDLETOWN - The Orange County Land Trust has been awarded a Community Investment Grant from Orange & Rockland Utilities to create and build a children’s exploratory nature trail at the Land Trust’s Hunter Farm Preserve in the Town of Wawayanda.

“The Tadpole Trail” will be a self-guided outdoor learning area designed to peak the interest of children ages 3-13.  A one and a half mile loop around the 60-acre preserve will host ten activity sites that focus on the preserve’s natural habitat and seasonal indicators of animals, amphibians, insects and plants. A special section will be devoted to the identification of invasive plant species that threaten the natural balance of our environment as well as a section on what individuals and children can do at the local level to help the global environment.  To construct this trail, the Land Trust will partner with educators and volunteers from several community groups and organizations.

The first acquired property of the Orange County Land Trust, Hunter Farm Preserve is a 60-acre preserve of open rolling fields, woodlands and two ponds. It is open to the public year round, free of charge for passive recreation such as walking, birding and photography, as well as educational purposes. It is located on Ethan Way, just off Mt. Orange Road. 

The Orange County Land Trust is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve the fields, forests, wetlands, ridgelines, and river corridors, as well as working farmland, in communities throughout Orange County through voluntary land conservation. The Land Trust collaborates with many conservation and planned growth organizations and partners with Orange County in implementing the county’s open space plan.  For more information and volunteer opportunities, please visit our website at www.oclt.org.