Flanders Nature Center Inc Van Vleck Farm

Programs: Education: in 2017, flanders nature center & land trust continued to enhance its year-round science based curriculum classes and educational workshops, including its popular summer programs for children. Over 400 children participated in weekday, weekend and school vacation programs, while over 7,000 school age students were visited either in their schools or out on field trips to the van vleck farm & nature sanctuary. On site, they learned about important new england traditions, such as raising farm animals and making maple syrup as well as discovering the wonders of the natural world through interpretive visits to flanders ponds, woods, meadows, farm and studio. On other fronts, flanders continued to offer a wonderful variety of adult/family offerings, around the themes of art, farming and nature.

land acquisition: through its land trust activities, flanders works to retain the rural character, ecological integrity and quality of life in the pomperaug river valley region and surrounding areas. Taking a strategic approach to land conservation, flanders protects important natural resources and has continuously added to its land trust holdings since acquiring its first parcel in 1973. Part of flanders strategy for acquiring open space includes using these natural assets to educate and broaden the communities awareness about the importance and value of protecting and stewarding open space. Total lands held in trust (fee simple and conservation easements) totals more than 2,300 acres.

land stewardship: flanders serves as the steward of 50 plus open space properties, totaling more than 2,300 acres, in woodbury and surrounding towns. We carefully manage the land to retain its ecological habitats and ensure that the open space is enhanced for future generations to enjoy. In its role as steward, flanders manages and monitors the properties it acquires while preserving their natural beauty and caring for the eco-system as a whole. These open spaces provide the community wonderful places for quiet contemplation and low impact recreation including a number of terrific hiking preserves. In short, flanders oversees the health of its open spaces and nature preserves, so that the woodlands, wetlands and trails remain open for everyone to appreciate and respect, use and enjoy.