Earth Day Hike at Guida Farm Conservation Area

Middletown's Conservation Commission will hold a guided walk at the Guida Conservation Area on Saturday, April 23, at 9:30 a.m. (raindate Saturday, April 30 at 9:30 a.m.) to commemorate Earth Day and the release in print version of the newly updated Middletown Trail Guide. A naturalist will be on hand to show some animal artifacts. A presentation on the area's geology will kick off the event, led by Elisabeth Holder  (former Earth Science teacher) and Kim Antol (Biology Teacher). The guided walk around the fields and woods of Guida will take place right after. Walkers should expect a gentle terrain, with spots that can get muddy at times. 

We hope you can join us! In case of rain, contact 860-301-1980 for cancellation information. To see the Middletown Trail Guide online, visit the City of Middletown website:
http://www.middletownplanning.com/documents/MdtnTrails2016_2_23__Interactive.pdf

Middletown has some fascinating geology. For about a hundred million years the area that we call Middletown was utterly landlocked, close to the very center of the supercontinent Pangaea. When Pangaea began to pull apart, Middletown was at the center of that action, too. Over time, giant faults dropped the central valley hundreds of feet, creating a dramatic rift that ran for several hundred miles. At the Guida Farm Conservation Area, you can see rare preserved evidence of this faulting and learn more about these events. 

Millions of years later Connecticut’s central valley was a rich environment for plants, animals, and for the native Americans who lived there. Annual flooding and a moderate climate provided some of the richest soil in the world for wild and cultivated plants. European settlers who arrived in the 17th century prospered in the area, as well. They grew abundant crops in the valley, while grazing animals and planting orchards in the hills. Through the 18th and 19th centuries, the wilderness was tamed by widespread farming, livestock grazing, and lumbering. Then a concern for preservation allowed towns, land trusts, and private citizens to set aside areas to be kept wild. Guida was one of the first properties to be preserved in Middletown by the the City and Conservation Commission. Since then, the City has purchased or otherwise protected nearly 4,000 acres, which everyone can enjoy.