PRESERVING COASTAL LANDS

Lori Fernand, right, and Kathy Connolly of the Trust for Public Land, receive a check for $5,000 Oct. 10 from the owners of Reynolds' Subaru in Lyme, Hayden Reynolds and Kathryn Reynolds Wayland.

The donation was in support of the Campaign to Preserve the 1,000 Acre Forest, a coastal area in Old Saybrook, Essex, and Westbrook. The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit organization with a mission to conserve land, is leading a $10 million campaign to protect the forest.

In the past year, the campaign has secured $3.3 million from the State of Connecticut and $3 million from the town of Old Saybrook after residents voted to support the project. The Town of Essex has also contributed $200,000 to the campaign.

The group will use the money for clean up, creating parking lots and trail enhancements to make the forest accessible to the public.

Donations can be made online by visiting preserve1000acres.com. Checks may also be sent to The Trust for Public Land, 101 Whitney Avenue, 2nd Floor, New Haven, CT 06510. Please include "The Preserve" in the memo line. For more information call Fernand at (203) 777-7367, ext. 6.

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