Follow the Trail with Bill Reid,
The Last Green Valley's Chief Ranger

Exploring The Last Green Valley: Towns like Thompson make this region so special

June 12, 2017

Exploring The Last Green Valley: Towns like Thompson make this region so special The Town of Thompson is located in the northeast corner of Connecticut and is one of 35 towns within The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor. I am very familiar with Thompson…

Exploring The Last Green Valley: Explore Guide has suggestions for every season

June 5, 2017

Exploring The Last Green Valley: Explore Guide has suggestions for every season When it comes to getting out and exploring our region, no one season has an advantage over another. While Cape Cod fills with people during the summer, and Vermont is a popular destination…

Exploring The Last Green Valley: WWII pilot from Thompson fought for Britain

May 30, 2017

Exploring The Last Green Valley: WWII pilot from Thompson fought for Britain  “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” — Winston Churchill Winston Churchill provided this well-known quote when he delivered an address to England’s…

Exploring The Last Green Valley: Long Island Sound an important estuary

May 23, 2017

The Last Green Valley is blessed with several large rivers, smaller streams and many ponds and lakes. Our waterways provided food and transportation routes for Native Americans, waterpower for 19thand 20th century industries, and today, they provide scenic paddles and excellent fishing.  The rivers and…

Exploring The Last Green Valley: Ruffed grouse encounter a pleasant surprise

May 15, 2017

Exploring The Last Green Valley: Ruffed grouse encounter a pleasant surprise This past March I was hiking through a forest that had recently gone through an extensive timber harvest. Most of what foresters refer to as the overstory, composed of dominant, mature white pine, had…

Exploring The Last Green Valley: Hope springs eternal this time of year

May 8, 2017

Exploring The Last Green Valley: Hope springs eternal this time of year Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blessed: The soul, uneasy and confined from home, Rests and expatiates in a life to come. — Alexander Pope,…

Exploring The Last Green Valley: Nature’s Early Bloomer: Discovering Bloodroot

May 1, 2017

Exploring The Last Green Valley: Nature’s Early Bloomer: Discovering Bloodroot One of our Last Green Valley members will occasionally stop by our office to visit, find out what’s new and share information. She has wonderful woods and gardens around her house in Killingly and enjoys…

The Return of the Bald Eagle – a Perfect Way to Celebrate Earth Day

April 24, 2017

I can think of no better way to recognize Earth Day – today – than to explore our region’s success with the return of bald eagles. When Earth Day began in 1970, the bald eagle had been reduced dramatically in numbers. They were only found…

Exploring The Last Green Valley: Earth Day continues to grow, change

April 19, 2017

Next Saturday is Earth Day and I wanted to share my thoughts about this special annual event and urge you to join with others in your community to celebrate our one and only planet Earth. Each April 22, we are asked again to consider the…

Exploring The Last Green Valley: Appreciate where we live

April 10, 2017

“I do not know whether it is possible to love the planet or not, but I do know that it is possible to love the places we can see, touch, smell and experience.” — David Orr, Earth in Mind This time of year makes me…

Exploring The Last Green Valley: Woodcock courtship ritual something to behold

April 4, 2017

I was about 12 years old when I first witnessed the magical springtime courtship ritual and flight display of the male American woodcock. It was an early spring evening at dusk and I was outside enjoying the pastoral views from my grandparents’ old farm in…

Exploring The Last Green Valley: It’s time to spring outdoors

March 28, 2017

Just a few days ago, at 6:28 a.m. Monday, marked the Vernal Equinox — the first day of spring. The winter of 2017 will go down as relatively mild, with not too many snowstorms in The Last Green Valley, though March certainly went out like…