Mystic — The 44th Annual Meeting of the Avalonia Land Conservancy will be held May 16 at 7 p.m. at the Denison-Pequotsepos Nature Center.

Following a business to elect board members and officers will be elected, Marta Daniels, a writer and historian from Chester, will present a program called "Hidden in Plain Sight: Know the Land, Know the Man."

The program is about Venture Smith, the 18th-century freed black slave, who became a respected landowner in Stonington and Haddam Neck. Light refreshments will be served. The meeting and program are free and open to the public, although only Avalonia members can vote in the election.