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05/25/2022 08:30 AMIt’s no secret that the shoreline is home to some of the best scenery in the state. As a member of the Westbrook Land Conservation Trust (WLCT) Kate Gilstad-Hayden is eager to get people out of the house this summer and exploring the natural beauty in their own backyards.
Last year Kate was thinking about the 52 Hike Challenge, an initiative that encourages participants to hike once a week every week of the year.
“I thought it’d be fun to do it on a smaller scale here in Westbrook,” says Kate.
That idea is becoming a reality this summer. Starting May 30 and running until Sept. 5, WLCT is hosting an event called Hike Westbrook Summer 2022 Challenge. The challenge is to hike 10 designated trails in Westbrook between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
“We’ll do a celebratory hike in September, so if you come to that and have completed all 10 hikes, there’ll be prizes. Whoever completes all 10 gets a prize,” Kate says.
The prizes are still being determined however she adds.
“People will need to use the website to track their progress or email a picture of them at trail sign and we’ll track it for them,” Kate explains.
The trail included in the challenges are found at the following 10 properties: 1. Town Forest 2. Tom ODell Memorial Open Space 3. Horse Hill Woods North 4. Horse Hill Woods South 5. Weber Woods 6. Chapman Mill Pond 7. Trout Brook 8. Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge 9. The Preserve and 10. Salt Island
“These properties pretty much cover all the hiking areas in Westbrook,” Kate says, noting the trails offer a good variety of hikes.
“I would say it’s good for all age ranges. Many of the properties have short trails, but there’s also longer trails if someone is looking for a longer hike,” Kate explains.
There is however one particular trail that deserves special attention.
“The walk to Salt Island is one that definitely needs adult supervision for kids. You can only do it at low tide and you definitely don’t want to get stuck out there at high tide,” Kate warns.
For more information including directions to hiking locations and instructions on how to track and submit your hiking log, interested parties can visit www.westbrooklct.org/news-events.
Kate is quick to point out that it isn’t just her helping organize the event. She says Bill Neale, John Cotton, and Doug White were also instrumental in helping organize the event.
“It took about six months to plan the event. We talked about the idea at a few land trust meetings and it seemed the four of us were really interested in it, so we had a few meetings ironing out the details and had it done,’ says Kate.
Kate has been a member of the land trust since 2007 and credits White in particular with getting her to join.
“We try to preserve open space in Westbrook for everyone to use,” she says of the group. Kate is also the treasurer of the group.
In what’s no surprise, Kate says she was motivated in part to join the trust because of an early fondness for time outside.
“All my summers were spent outside all day. Eventually, Doug convinced me to join,” Kate recalls.
Besides her 15 years with the land trust, some Westbrook residents may know Kate from her time on the Board of Finance where she works to help oversee town finances with the rest of the board.
“I’ve been on the board for four years. I wanted to be a good citizen and help with the way the town government works,” Kate says of her decision to join the board.
Volunteering with local organizations is something that has long been important to Kate.
“When I was in high school, I was really involved in community organizations. But then I got older and was really moving around every three years pretty much it became harder,” Kate says.
However, since putting roots down in Westbrook, Kate says that volunteering is something that came back to her.
“I love the organizing and being a part of activities that we organize,” says Kate when asked her favorite part of being involved locally.
That’s not to say it’s all easy however.
“We need to get younger and we’re having a hard time getting younger members to join,” Kate says of WLCT.
Kate says she hops the hike challenge will encourage younger people and families to get involved with the trust and inject youthful energy in the group.
Kate grew up in Niantic but has called Westbrook home since 2003. For work, Kate is a biostatistician, a job she enjoys.
“I analyze data for research projects,” she says.
In her spare time Kate can be found listening to music or of course hiking.
As for her favorite part about Westbrook, Kate says, “The schools have been great, I like being by the ocean, and it’s a nice community we’ve found here.”