The 46th Annual Dinner meeting of the Joshua’s Tract Conservation and Historic Trust will be held on Thursday, April 19th at the Wilderness Camp Ground on Village Hill Road in Willington. “This is a change of venue for us and we thank Ray Crossen for donating the space. I think people will really enjoy the view” says Isabelle Atwood, Chair of the Special Events Committee and long time Joshua’s Trust member. The meeting will begin at 6:00 with a social hour and dinner before the meeting convenes. Chef Tom O’Connor will cater a dinner of stuffed chicken breasts along with various accompaniments. Awards will be given for Conservation, Stewardship and the President’s volunteer of the year. This year’s speaker will be Dr. Tom Worthley, assistant extension professor in the Department of Extension in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at UConn. Dr. Worthley’s timely topic is on the role the invasive species of Japanese barberry plays in the lives of deer ticks which spread the tick-borne diseases of Lyme. Japanese barberry was introduced as an attractive landscape plant in 1875 but has since become a serious problem in New England not only because it replaces the native species but also because it harbors earthworms which increase soil erosion and make it attractive for the nymph form of the ticks which carry Lyme disease. Tickets for the dinner are $25.00 and must be reserved by April 12 through the form on the Joshua’s Trust spring newsletter or on the website at www.joshuaslandtrust.org.
