Conservation Heroes of Connecticut
Did you know that the Connecticut was home for some of the early leaders in American conservation? Join the McLean Game Refuge and Holcomb Farm for an informative series of lectures entitled Conservation Heroes of Connecticut. Dr. William Bentley, Professor Emeritus and former Chair, Faculty of Forest and Natural Resources Management, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, has organized a fascinating look at where we have been and may be headed in conservation of our natural resources particularly our forests. Dr. Bentley will moderate the series.
The lectures will be at the Holcomb Farm in West Granby. Each lecture will start at 7 PM and be followed by a reception where the audience can talk with the lecturer and continue the conversation among the participants. Tickets are available through the Holcomb Farm 860-844-8614 and McLean Foundation 860-658-3702. The series is $25, and individual lecture tickets are $10. Donors to the McLean Game Refuge and members of Holcomb Farm will receive 10% discounts on tickets.
The schedule includes lectures on Gifford Pinchot and George McLean, who were born in Simsbury, and James Goodwin, who was born in Hartford. A fourth lecture will consider why Connecticut, but especially Simsbury, was a center for the early conservation movement and comment on the prospects for continued leadership in the 21st century.
Edgar Brannon on Gifford Pinchot
November 11, 2008
Ed Brannon is the retired Director of Grey Tower National Historic Site in Milford PA, the home of Pinchot for many years. The first American trained as a professional forester, Pinchot and his family founded the Yale Forestry School in 1900. Pinchot was America's first Chief Forester, appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1905, and later served as Governor of Pennsylvania.
David Holdt on George McLean
December 9, 2008
David Holdt is a retired History teacher and Writer-in-Residence, Watkinson School, a professor at the University of Hartford, and an expert on McLean and his legacy having actually lived in the Refuge in the 60s. George McLean was Governor of Connecticut in 1901 when he appointed the first State Forester in the nation. As a US Senator in 1913, he co-authored the world's first migratory waterfowl act, which led to the current set of global treaties that guide protection of migratory birds. His conservation legacy lives on in the 4,410 acre McLean Game Refuge.
Stephen Broderick on James Goodwin
January 20, 2009
Steve Broderick retired as Senior Extension Forester with the University of Connecticut this fall and now is with Connecticut Forest and Park Association. He manages the Goodwin Forest Conservation Education Center in Hampton in collaboration with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
James Godwin, an early graduate of the Yale Forestry School, acquired his Pine Acres Forest (2,171 acres in Hampton CT) and managed it for 50 years. He also donated the 280 acre Great Pond State Forest in Simsbury to the state of Connecticut. In addition, he gave the James Goodwin Forest near Carthage, NC to North Carolina State's College of Forest Resources. The forest includes 1,169 acres formerly used as cotton fields and rundown woodlots, which were restored to pine by Mr. Goodwin prior to his gift to the university.
Steve Grant on past, present, & future conservation movements in Connecticut
February 17, 2009
Steve Grant has been a writer for The Hartford Courant since 1980. His reporting and commentary on natural science, outdoor recreation, the environment, and history topics appear there frequently. He edited and wrote the introduction to "Daily Observations: Thoreau on the Days of the Year," a book that was selected as one of the "Outstanding Titles for 2006" by the Public Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians.
McLean Game Refuge Incorporates For The Future
To position McLean for the future and consistent with Senator George P. McLean's will, the Trustees have created new not-for-profit corporate entities. Effective October 1, 2008, all senior care operations of McLean will be under McLean Affiliates, Inc., a subsidiary of the McLean Fund. This includes the McLean Health Center, McLean Home Care & Hospice, McLean Village and all associated programs. The McLean Game Refuge will be a separate corporation. These new corporations will be subsidiaries of our parent company The McLean Fund.
What does this mean to clients? Really not much as it will not cause any change in the programs and services McLean provides to the public. You may see notices in the paper that the lands at 75 Great Pond Road have been transferred to McLean Affiliates, Inc. and that the lands of the Game Refuge (actually several parcels in the land records for the 4,410 acres acquired over time) have been transferred to The McLean Game Refuge. This is all part of the incorporation process.
If you have questions, do not hesitate to click contact us or call the President, David Bordonaro, at 658-3705.
