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03/04/2020 07:24 AMHere at the cusp of spring, many residents are watching forecasts hopefully, watching for that first day when they can break the long monotony of winter with the first outdoor hikes, walks, or strolls of spring.
The Guilford branch of the Shoreline Greenway Trail is asking, why wait?
On Saturday, March 7, the popular local organization is inviting residents to join local botanist Lauren Brown in a winter walk, potentially braving the last few weeks of cold to tour sections of the Hammonasset Shoreline Greenway Trail for a sneak preview of the colors and growth of spring just around the corner. The trailhead is next to a parking lot just beyond Hammonasset Beach State Park, 1288 Boston Post Road, Madison.
Brown, who is vice president of the Connecticut Botanical Society and has written two field guides on local plantlife, said she regularly leads these kinds of activities that give people the opportunity to see a part of the cycle of plants they might not otherwise witness.
“People who might be interested in plants might think, ‘Well it’s winter, there are no plants to look at,’ but the fact of the matter is, a lot of the wildflowers you see in the summer leave their remains in the winter...with a little practice, you can learn to identify them,” Brown said.
This unique, somewhat off-the-beaten path method of appreciating plant life gives people a chance to better understand how flowers and foliage transition through the harshest season. Brown said that despite the fact that you aren’t able to see them in their colorful glory, winter gives plant enthusiasts a chance to understand the structure and life cycle of some of their favorite flowers and shrubs.
“You can see the seed pods of the plants and the seeds. And that’s kind of interesting, too, because we all focus on the flowers, and we forget that the point of the flowers is to produce seeds,” Brown said.
The botany aspect of the walk won’t get too technical or academic, Brown promised, focusing on the kind of information a casual plant fan might appreciate. The walk also covers sections of the trail that pass salt marshes as well as forest, offering a variety of ecosystems and views.
A lot of people who are eager for spring want to know what kind of flowers and plants will be blooming shortly, Brown said, and that is a fun aspect of the walk—being able to identify where soon, a patch of seemingly dead, brown plant matter will be a blossoming growth of wildflowers.
“There won’t be much in the way of young shoots yet; it will still be pretty much winter. But the dried forms will tell you what will come eventually,” Brown said.
Because that is what interests most people, and because it’s her area of expertise, Brown said wildflowers are a large focus of the walk, but she is well qualified to answer other questions people might have about trees or other aspects of the winter ecosystems.
“Trees in winter are interesting, too- people think, ‘Oh you can’t identify the trees in the wintertime,’ and that’s not true at all,” she said.
Mostly, Brown said, she hopes people who take the learn that life, particularly plant life, doesn’t disappear during the colder months, and that there is always something going on as far as nature.
“Winter can be interesting, too. You don’t just have to fold up your tent and spend the whole winter inside. There’s plenty to look at in winter,” she said.
The walk will begin at 10 a.m. at the Hammonasset Shoreline Greenway Trail parking lot on Route 1 in Madison, between Hammonasset Beach State Park at 1288 Boston Post Road and Salt Meadow Park at 1362 Boston Post Road.