The Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, now in its 70th year, is one of the region’s oldest environmental organizations. The creation of the Coogan Farm Nature and Heritage Center in Mystic signifies a pivotal time for the Nature Center, the community and the entire region. What started out as a land preservation project has expanded to something much more significant.

The significance works on different scales. On the local geographic scale, the property is a gem. Its hillside meadow provides sweeping views of the Mystic River and provides habitats for 10 species listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as high conservation priorities. The pristine land helps protect two crucial watersheds: the Mystic River and Pequotsepos Brook.

The farm connects Mystic, as a town and a community. This 300-acre greenway links area attractions, stores, schools, hotels and neighborhoods through footpaths and bike trails that encourage recreation and healthy lifestyles.

Produce grown in the community garden and harvest-to-table activities promote good nutrition and healthful eating habits. Our community Giving Garden, in partnership with the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut and the Robert G. Youngs Family Foundation, provides tons of fresh produce to local food pantries.

From a regional perspective, the Coogan Farm is part of a larger intact cultural landscape that stretches from the Thames, Mystic and Pawcatuck rivers, connecting from the shoreline north into the borderlands region of Pachaug State Forest and beyond.

The Coogan Farm adds value to this tapestry as the last parcel of undeveloped farmland between downtown Mystic, the Mystic Seaport, Interstate 95 and Mystic Aquarium. It links, through trails and stone bridges across Avalonia Land Conservancy property and the Pequotsepos Brook, to the original Denison Farm and Homestead (and to the Nature Center).

The farm’s natural and cultural features also tell a history of a deep time scale, both tragic and fruitful. The land once belonged to the Pequot Indian tribe, removed in bloody fashion after a four-year battle between the Pequots and English colonists (joined by the Narragansett and Mohegan tribes). About 700 Pequots were killed or sold into captivity.

The property became a farm, the first along the East side of the Mystic River, when the land was given to John Gallup in the 1640s. The Gallup land has been farmed for centuries to the present, by a succession of local families including Greenmans, Morgans and Coogans.

When I-95 came through Mystic in the late 1960s, the old walls, built by slaves and indentured Indians, were unbroken from Greenmanville to the top of Quoketaug Hill in Old Mystic and beyond, connecting pastures, agricultural fields and orchards cleared and created by European settlers in the 17th century. Pequot Trail, from Old Mystic to Pawcatuck, was Connecticut’s first designated scenic road.

At Coogan Farm, nature and history shapes the future. With its stone walls and stories dating back through the centuries, it offers fertile ground as a model for conservation education, connecting people to nature as the Center fulfills its mission: “To inspire an understanding of the natural world and ourselves as a part of it — past, present and future.”

Now begins the next chapter in the story, using natural and historic assets in new ways. Coogan Farm’s natural and cultural features include 370 years of American history and embody the birthplace of the American spirit.

The transformation of Coogan Farm was successful because of our community’s investment in quality of life. Our vision became a shared vision, a chorus of voices of community leaders, volunteers, donors and friends, including the Trust for Public Land and The Conservation Fund. More than 800 donors supported the Nature Center’s efforts with gifts ranging from $5 to $500,000. We received major grants from the state ($500,000) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ($600,000).

Since opening to the public in September 2014, the transformation has continued. Innovative partnerships and challenge grants raised funds to renovate the 1840s house and barn, culturally important and practical venues that foster connections to the landscape. The Conservation Fund continues to be an important partner, validating the concept of a cultural landscape and recognizing the significance of connecting people to nature and the environment — something the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center has done successfully for decades.

On April 25, the same date the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center incorporated in 1946, we will dedicate the John E. Avery House and Welcome Center and the Jules Xavier Schneider Barn for Nature and the Arts, celebrating the completion of the project.

Maggie Jones is the executive director of the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary and the completion of the Coogan Farm project.