Belden Forest Inducted into National Old Growth Forest Network: Celebratory Events Scheduled on October 24-25, 2019

On October 25, 2019, Simsbury’s Belden Forest will be inducted into the Old-Growth Forest Network.  Forests inducted into this network have exceptional ecological integrity and are among the oldest known native forests in the country.  Belden Forest in Simsbury is the first forest in Connecticut to be included in the Old Growth Forest Network.

A reception will be held on Thursday, October 24, 2019 at 6:00pm at the Simsbury Public Library, followed by a film screening of The Lost Forests of New England at 6:30pm.  This film features footage of rare Old Growth Forests in New England, and tells the story of what our forests once were before European settlement, what changes have taken place, and what our remnant old-growth stands look like today.  Filmmaker Ray Asselin will introduce the film, and it will be followed by a panel discussion with Robert T. Leverett (Co-founder, Native Tree Society and co-author of the Sierra Club Guide to Eastern Old Growth Forests) and Dr. Joan Maloof, founder of the Old Growth Forest Network.  Click here to register for this event.

The Old-Growth Forest Network designation ceremony will take place on Friday, October 25, 2019 at 12:00pm at Boy Scout Hall, 695 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury. Dr. Susan Masino, a neuroscientist and professor of Applied Science at Trinity College and member of the Simsbury Open Space Committee, will be presented with a Forest Advocate award from the Old-Growth Forest Network during the induction. Refreshments and a walk through Belden Forest will follow the presentation of the designation.

Belden Forest is a 42-acre, Town-owned property that consists of a loop of flat, secluded, and easy-to-walk trails dominated by the 100-foot tall white pines. It is forever protected from commercial logging and is open to the public.  Belden Forest is accessed from the east side of Beldenwood Road, approximately 500 feet east of the intersection with Firetown Road. It can also be accessed off of Hopmeadow Street through the parking lot between Boy Scout Hall and the Simsbury Public Library.