Create a bigger, better Mono Pond State Park!
We're working hard with the community to expand Mono Pond State Park by nearly 1,000 acres in Wells Woods! We've secured most of the funding, and now we need your help to close the deal. Donate here today!
Leader
Honor Lawler
Location
Wells Woods Road Columbia, CT 06237
About the project
You may have already explored Mono Pond State Park in Columbia. It’s a treasured spot for local fisherman and kayakers. And you’ll often run into a neighbor walking their dog or exploring woods with their kids. Now we have the chance to triple the size of this tiny, but mighty, slice of nature. The Trust for Public Land and the Town of Columbia are working in partnership with the State's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to acquire up to 1,000 acres in Wells Woods and 10 miles of trails to create a bigger, better Mono Pond State Park. We’re so close to the finish line – but we need your help!
If you give today you can double your impact! The Community Match Fund through Sustainable CT has committed to match every gift we receive, dollar for dollar, until May 1st, 2020. Don’t miss out on this amazing offer.
Your matching gift will help to protect 490 acres of critical forestland, triple the size of the beloved Mono Pond State Park, and unlock a 10-mile trail network. Once finished, the newly expanded State Park will be accessible from the 50-mile Air Line State Park Trail.
The expanded state park will bring to life our long‐held community vision for a trail network and preserved woodland that offers new recreational opportunities and connects people to nature and each other. For the thousands who live within one mile of the Air Line State Park Trail, along with countless others who can access this public space in perpetuity, the park creates a path—to opportunity, to social connections, to health and healing.
We have an incredible opportunity in front of us. Donate today and double your impact for our community!
We can’t do it without you. You can help create a bigger, better Mono Pond State Park, and build a shared backyard for all. Donate today!
The Steps
To date, we've secured nearly all of the funds towards the purchase of 313 acres, and are in the process of securing other public grants for another 180 acres.
With your help, we can move the project across the finish line and complete our due diligence, in order to legally convey these properties to the State of Connecticut in early 2020. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar!
Why we‘re doing it
We believe that people need and deserve access to the outdoors.
Spending time in nature—days, hours, or just a few minutes—enriches our lives. It makes us feel rejuvenated. Healthier. Happier.
At The Trust for Public Land, our mission is to create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come.
From your neighborhood playground to your favorite national park, from the walking trail down the street to our country’s most vast and wild escapes, we help communities across America protect the places that matter most to all of us.
Right here in Columbia, we are close to finalizing the first expansion of Mono Pond State Park, a project that will enrich the lives of local residents, improve and expand access to nature and the outdoors, and build the social fabric of the community through the shared asset of a very special place.
We believe that the act of engaging community creates community. We know from experience that both our process and its results are transformational, empowering communities to come together beyond the boundaries of our work.