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04/26/2017 08:30 AMIf Sally Whiteman’s connection to her hometown of Guilford was a trail, it would follow the path of a full circle.
“I grew up in Guilford, and the first eight years of my life were spent across the street on the West River, on River Street. Now, I’m back across the street from the West River again,” says Sally.
Sally resides a short walk away from another Guilford site she has long loved, Chittenden Park, where she is the steward of the southern gateway to the New England Trail, located at the park’s edge. Every time she sets foot on the property—snow, rain, or sun—Sally feels another connection to her Guilford roots.
“My dad had given two pieces of property to the town that adjoined Chittenden Park, and as far as I know, they might be a part of Chittenden Park today,” says Sally, who uses her maiden name. “So this is really like coming home, a little bit, to me.”
Sally began stewarding the trail in May 2016 as volunteer with the Connecticut Forest & Park Association (CFPA), a statewide conservation non-profit based in Middlefield.
“I am a trail advocate now,” says Sally. “I’ve always been a walker; I haven’t been a hiker, but I am now!”
The gateway section at Chittenden Park was opened in June 2014 in conjunction with Guilford’s 375th anniversary. It features a boardwalk and passive recreation lookout designed by Guilford architect William Thompson. The trail’s subtly elevated boardwalk moves away from manicured grass of the park’s playing fields to cross natural wetlands and dunes, in a curving route following the lay of the land. A few steps later, it gives out to an open platform overlooking undeveloped beachfront with views of Faulkner’s Island, Chaffinch Island Park, and the West River. Simple, sturdy benches on two sides of the platform beckon even hard-core hikers to stop and take it all in.
The boardwalk also draws birdwatchers, nature lovers, and folks simply in need of a shoreline respite. It’s one of the most beautiful vistas on the 215-mile New England Trail, which connects from Long Island Sound in Guilford to the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border. In Guilford, the trail runs up through town and into North Guilford.
“It goes up to the East River Preserve and the [New England] Trail continues through there,” says Sally.
A little closer to her home, “the trail actually comes through past Henry Whitfield House [Museum], down lower Whitfield Street, and up over the train station and then continues on down. Just follow the blazes to the beach,” says Sally.
The small natural beach is one of the most pleasant surprises found at the southern gateway of the trail at Chittenden Park, and certainly Sally’s favorite spot.
“It’s five minutes from my house and I go there year-round, even in the dead of winter,” says Sally. “In fact, I feel deprived if I can’t go down there. There are four osprey nests visible from the beach, and I have watched them feather their nests.”
Just last week, she joined CFPA Guilford Trail Manager Paul Mei in helping to re-blaze CFPA’s 4.6 mile trail section’s solid blue six-inch by two-inch blaze. It was Mei, a member of the Guilford Land Conservation Commission (Sally has served as an alternate on the commission’s Land Stewardship Committee) who recommended Sally as a CFPA volunteer to steward the southern gateway.
Turns out, Sally was exactly the person the trail needed. Between cast-off items left by visitors and debris rolling onto the beach via Long Island Sound, the gateway area was wanting some special attention.
“Soon after I started, I used to go down there with a cart and fill it up with grocery bags, plastic bags and cellophane, tons of glass, and bigger pieces of broken bottles,” says Sally. “In my first year, I’ve put in almost 200 hours!”
Sally’s commitment to the southern section of the New England Trail has made quite an impression, says Clare Cain, CFPA Trails Stewardship director.
“Her stewardship has primarily involved improving and cleaning up the beach and area around the trail boardwalk at Chittenden Park. This is a beautiful spot,” says Cain. “Sally’s tremendous civic engagement, her commitment to trails and conservation, and her stewardship of this Guilford gem are all tremendously inspiring.”
Sally’s effort to keep the area clear of debris is working—she’s down to collecting bags of items, rather than cartloads—but she would love to help raise awareness among those who visit to help keep the trail clean.
“When I’m down there picking up stuff, people will say, ‘What are you doing?’ and I’ll tell them what I’m doing, and who I am, and that it’s the southern gateway to the New England Trail. And they’ll say, ‘Thank you for your service’—which I’ve always thought should be reserved for veterans—and they’ll mosey along, see a plastic bag, and not pick it up!”
Sally also says the beach sometimes attracts dog owners, including those with dogs off leash. Sally urges owners to please clean up after dogs who leave “debris” on the beach, and also carry out and properly dispose of any bags filled with dog waste.
“Some very nicely pick it up, but then tie the bags and throw them into the bushes. We found 19 bags in the bushes one day!” says Sally.
On April 22, as part of Guilford Parks & Recreation/Guilford Agricultural Society’s EarthFest at the Guilford Fairgrounds, Sally set up a display, hanging plastic bags, sand filled with broken glass, and other items collected over two weeks’ worth of trail cleaning. As a mother of three grown children and self-described “household engineer,” Sally went to school for social work and said her game plan on April 22 was to appeal to the children visiting EarthFest with their parents.
“I think children can do a lot to remind parents not to toss these things,” says Sally.
Because Sally scours the beach, boardwalk and trail section of the New England Trail’s southern gateway at Chittenden Park, it remains one of the most inviting locales on the New England Trail. Sally says she truly enjoys her stewardship.
“I feel lucky, I really do,” she says. “I feel like I’ve got the plum.”
For more information about the Connecticut Forest & Park Association or to become a member, visit www.ctwoodlands.org/membership.