The land here is home to around 150 species of CT native flora and counting (both including plants that were already here and ones I’ve introduced in restoration or gardens).

The fauna population (that we’ve seen) includes:

• larger creatures such as bob cat, bear, deer, beaver, rabbit, raccoon;

• smaller ones like musk rats, river otters, chipmunks, squirrels;

• a large snapping turtle population which nests on the island each year;

• wild mallards which nest on the banks each year & many avian friends who nest or feed on the island, most notably: many Great Blue Herons, Bald Eagle, various Merganser species and water fowl; ruby-throated hummingbirds; and nesting sites for nearly all woodpecker species native to the state: Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Red-bellied woodpecker, and Pileated Woodpecker

• and a wide variety of insects and pollinators. From the many ground nesting native bumble bees to at least 8 species of native dragonfly, 5 species of firefly, and 19 species of butterfly.

Up until this past year, I would actually jokingly refer to the island as ‘Invasive Island’. We’ve removed hundreds…and hundreds…and hundreds of invasive plants that had created horribly thick monocultures on the island, along the waterway, and were beginning to threaten the woodlands above. This has included Burning Bush, Japanese Honeysuckles, Japanese Barberry, Multiflora Rose, Star of Bethlehem, Japanese Spirea and Autumn Olive amongst others using a variety of removal techniques specific to each species and problem solving for erosion concerns.

In the areas we’ve successfully removed these, biodiverse understories and gardens have replaced them providing a healthy, native habitat for all manner of wildlife but especially for our thriving pollinator population.

We do not use any pesticides or broad spray chemical applications on the property. We do not use any herbicides with the exception of an occasional spot-painted application of triclopyr when needed against invasive species sticking out of cliffsides that cannot have their roots manually removed because of erosion concerns and steep rock faces. These painted cuttings are wrapped in black plastic after to contain the chemical and suffocate the plant. The root system will die while maintaining the integrity of the cliff face and giving time for new native plants to root.

As part of my ‘slow design’ ethos- the rule of thumb here is to watch and listen first for a couple years to the way nature is working, and then move accordingly with her.

Our topography has largely helped protect this piece of land from the impacts of the developed neighboring areas and created a peaceful little bubble for our wildlife- however, like any ecosystem, it is fragile, small, and feels pressure and effects from the surrounding developed areas and upstream neighbors.

We are doing our best to combat pollution issues here- from noise to light to trash. The nature of the topography helps greatly with noise pollution although neighboring properties use of traditional landscaping practices or nearby construction as well as street or air traffic does effect us. We have no lights (usually) on on the island at night but we are campaigning against light pollution from neighboring lots to help protect our migratory birds and our insects.

And lastly, the trash that comes down stream particularly after storms or into the woods along the neighboring commercial property has been a major issue we have been combatting with manual clean ups. My partner luckily is a rock climber and so he must repel down the cliff side to get under the bridge with a pool strainer to remove plastic debris.

We hope to engage volunteers in the future who would like to help us keep this ecosystem clean.