CUNNINGHAM NATURE PRESERVE

An enchanted land with forests, trails, streams, vernal pools and dramatic rock formations are yours to explore at WLT’s newly acquired, 237-acre Cunningham Nature Preserve.

Combined with the adjacent Kent Land Trust property and the Wyantenock State Forest, over 1,000 acres in the sensitive Lake Waramaug and Aspetuck River watersheds are now protected. The area encompasses substantial core forest, which the Housatonic Valley Association's Greenprint Collaborative Follow the Forest initiative highlights as critical for protecting wildlife migration, varied species habitat and climate change mitigation.

You are welcome to enjoy hiking the preserve on the recently enhanced and connected trail to the adjoining Kent Land Trust’s East Kent Hamlet Nature Preserve. The extensive network of trails highlights historically significant features, including the homestead of Charles Finney, 19th-century religious leader and President of Oberlin College, and the monument Oberlin students erected in his honor.

Significant funding was awarded by several state, federal and foundation grants to complete the acquisition of the Cunningham Nature Preserve: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Highlands Act Grant Program, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program, the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation, the William P. Wharton Trust and the Connecticut Land Conservation Council's TAG Grant Program. Thank you also to the Thyberg family for their long-time stewardship of the land and commitment to its conservation, and to the Kent Land Trust and Housatonic Valley Association's Greenprint Collaborative for their invaluable collaboration and support throughout the acquisition process.