Exploring the West River Watershed from West Rock to Beaver Ponds | Starts at Common Ground – 358 Springside Avenue in New Haven

Did you know our city is one of a handful urban wildlife refuges designated by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service across the country? Discover urban oases for people & wildlife, while exploring nature in your city. Join in a tour of an educational wetland and schoolyard habitat at Common Ground, and venture down to a new urban oasis created by high school students along Wintergreen Brook. Walk by the Hamden Transfer Station, B’Nai Jacob Cemetery, and the site of the proposed new police firing range, and on through the Southern Connecticut State University campus, learning about new environmental developments at these locations. Then explore urban oases at Beaver Ponds Park, Southern Connecticut State University, and King Robinson School, as well as a brand-new city park created by neighbors and partners on Cherry Ann Street. Along the way, meet the young people, partners and neighbors who are creating and stewarding these urban oases, and log the birds and wildlife we see along our route. You’ll leave with a map of the 27 urban oasis sites across our city.

Total walking distance approximately 3 miles, on trails, roads, and sidewalks; wear appropriate footwear and clothing. Shuttles available back to Common Ground. Heavy rain cancels. Questions? Contact Joel Tolman at 203.809.4164 or jtolman@commongroundct.org.

Co-sponsored by the West River Watershed Coalition, New Haven Parks Department, Common Ground, Friends of Beaver Ponds Park, Audubon CT, the Urban Resources Initiative, Southern Connecticut State University, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the New Haven Bioregional Group.