The lower Connecticut River Valley is home to salt marshes, barrier beaches and osprey nests — and now a new initiative from the Connecticut Audubon Society.

The Audubon Society recently announced a regional board of directors to help raise awareness and create more opportunities for conservation efforts within the lower Connecticut River Valley region, said Tom Andersen, director of communications for the Connecticut Audubon Society.

"It gives us a core group of supporters who can be our local ambassadors," said Andersen.

The region has a legacy of celebrating the beauty of nature, particulary with the history of American Impressionist painters in Old Lyme, said Andersen.

The Connecticut River, unlike most major rivers on the East Coast, doesn't have a large city at its mouth and has natural areas that are unbelievably pristine, said Andersen. The region also boasts the special habitat of the Connecticut River's estuary where fresh water mixes with salt water.

The more people are aware of these natural areas and their ecological importance, the greater chance they will be protected and conserved, said Andersen.

To celebrate the regional board's emergence, the Audubon Society will host lectures this month and next month on education, science and the arts — titled The Connecticut River Estuary Lecture Series — in honor of Roger Tory Peterson, the famous ornithologist and author, who lived in Old Lyme.

The Audubon Society, which has other regional boards in Pomfret, Glastonbury, Milford Point and a statewide Board of Directors, worked with a small group of volunteers to establish a regional board in the lower Connecticut River Valley region, he said. The board will serve Old Lyme, Lyme, Essex, Old Saybrook and southeastern Connecticut.

According to a news release from the Connecticut Audubon Society, Herman Blanke of Old Lyme will be the board's chairman, and Patsy McCook of Old Lyme will serve as the board's secretary. Other members include Emily Bjornberg of Lyme, Elsie Childs of Old Lyme, Jim Denham of Essex, Margarita Emerson of Niantic, and Eleanor Robinson, Ted VanItallie, and Claudia Weicker of Old Lyme. Old Lyme First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder and Old Lyme resident John Forbis have supported the board's creation. Forbis and Andy Griswold will serve as advisers to the board.

Regional efforts: science programs, osprey counting and lectures

As part of the initiative, the board hopes to expand the Audubon's educational programs to more schools in the region, said Denham, a member of both the regional and statewide board for the Audubon.

The Audubon recently brought its "Science in Nature" program to the region at Essex Elementary School. The Essex Elementary students went on a field trip to Killingworth's Chatfield Hollow State Park and will go to Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison later this month, according to the news release.

Denham said the Audubon's programs complement schools' curriculum and enrich students' learning by offering hands-on exposure to science in the field.

The first event in the Connecticut River Estuary Lecture Series will focus on education. This event this Thursday, titled "Teaching About Connecticut River Estuary Ecology: A Key to Engaging the Next Generation," will feature Michelle Eckman, the director of education at Connecticut Audubon, a science teacher at Essex Elementary and osprey researcher Paul Spitzer, according to a brochure.

At the second lecture on May 28, scientists Wayne (Rocky) Geyer and Gail Kineke will discuss research on the Connecticut River estuary and how a field station would assist research efforts, according to the event description.

The third lecture on June 4, focused on artists influenced by the Connecticut River estuary, will feature Jeffrey Cooley, the founder of The Cooley Gallery in Old Lyme, along with photographer Joe Standart, ecologist Rob Hernandez, and photographer Diana Atwood Johnson, the description states.

More information about the lectures, which will all take place at 4 p.m. at the Essex Meadows retirement community, is available on the Connecticut Audubon Society's website.

Another initiative the Audubon Society hopes to expand in this region, particularly since it has the highest concentration of ospreys in the state, is Osprey Nation, said Andersen. As part of the program, volunteers help count and monitor ospreys.

"There is a great conservation tradition to uphold in this region," said Blanke in a statement. "Roger Tory Peterson of Old Lyme helped make birding the popular pastime that it is and also drew the connection between birds and conservation. A century ago, the painters of Old Lyme turned this beautiful landscape into art."

"We view it as our goal and our responsibility to carry on that tradition of conservation and appreciation for the beauty of the natural world," he added.

k.drelich@theday.com

Twitter: @KimberlyDrelich