This year, the celebration is all weekend! Join us on June 4-5. The short version:

Saturday, June 4

• Butterfly Walk at 10 AM
• Kayak Paddle at 1 PM

Sunday, June 5

• Archaeology Walk at 1 PM
• Nature Walk at 2 PM

Read on for details on all events!

Saturday, June 4

10:00 AM Butterfly Walk

Join butterfly hobbyist Michele Sorensen to explore the gardens and natural areas around the Park’s Nature Center in search of caterpillars, skippers, moths and butterflies. We may see Mourning Cloak, Pearl Crescent, Question Mark, Monarch, Cabbage White, Orange or Clouded Sulphurs, tiny Gray Hairstreaks & Blues, and Black or Tiger Swallowtails. Likely Skippers are Peck’s and Silver-spotted. Last year Common Buckeyes were everywhere, as were Monarchs. It will be fun to see which ones predominate this season. Michele is part of the Friends of Sherwood Island Garden Team, which has planted dozens of perennials and shrubs in the park to attract butterflies. She will point out plants that are good host plants for your garden.

Bring binoculars and a camera or smartphone. You’ll learn how to report your findings on iNaturalist so scientists anywhere can see how these insects are doing. Children are welcome. We recommend age 4 and up, as butterflies are small, and don’t stay still, so they can be difficult for younger ones to spot.

Leader: Michele Sorensen
Total Distance: 1 mile

Meeting Place: Meet at the Sherwood Island State Park Nature Center. Ask at the Park gate, turn left at East Beach, parking lot is adjacent to the Nature Center.

Rain Plan & Registration: Rain cancels. Pre-registration is APPRECIATED.

Questions and/or participant registration, contact:
Cece Saunders, cece@historicalperspectives.org, 203-984-1488

1:00-4:00 PM Kayak Paddle

See Sherwood Island from the water! Join us for an afternoon paddle, as we explore the shoreline of the park. Bring your own kayak, canoe, or other paddlecraft, as well as a pump/bailer. A life vest and whistle/horn are required by CT state boating regulations. Your life vest must be worn for this event. We recommend a waterproof VHF radio or cell phone. It’s a long carry over the beach, so bring a kayak cart (with wide wheels for sand) if you have one. We will help each other.

The event begins promptly at 1 pm (high tide is at 3:33) and ends at 4:00 pm, so plan to arrive by 12:45. We’ll do a safety check & demonstration on the beach for life vest fit, seaworthy vessel, and emergency gear. We’ll paddle into the salt marsh behind the park while the tide is rising. Then we’ll paddle the length of the Sherwood Island shoreline, west to the entrance of Mill Pond, and return to our launch point on the open beach. Your guide will point out birds along the way, and show you how to safely exit and enter your kayak from deep water just off the beach. Michele is a retired Coastal Kayak Instructor with twenty years teaching experience. Optional: Bring waterproof binoculars for spotting birds, and/or a waterproof camera.

Leader: Michele Sorensen
Total Distance: 3 miles

Meeting Place: Drive around the circle to the East Beach Parking lot; follow the road along the shore past the Nature Center; park in front of beach almost at the end of the lot.

Rain Plan & Registration:
Rain or Shine, except heavy rain cancels.
Pre-registration is APPRECIATED.

Questions and/or participant registration, contact:
Cece Saunders, cece@historicalperspectives.org, 203-984-1488

Sunday, June 5

1:00 PM Archaeology Walk

Join us for an Archaeology Walk on the Sherwood Island History Trail. The walk will be led by Archaeologists Dawn Brown and Ernie Wiegand. The walk will include points of interest, terrain, and examining the traces of past inhabitants of Sherwood Island, from 1000 B.C. to the 1940s. The leader will share findings from recent excavations, including Native American, early settlers, and onion farmers.
Along the trail, various sites will be described and examined, and various artifacts, maps, old photos, and recent recoveries will be used to bring the island’s past inhabitants to life.

Leaders: Archaeologists Dawn Brown and Ernie Wiegand
Total Distance: 1.5 miles

Meeting Place: Meet at the Sherwood Island State Park Nature Center. Ask at the Park gate, turn left at East Beach, parking lot is adjacent to the Nature Center.

Rain Plan & Registration Details:
Rain cancels.
Pre-registration is APPRECIATED.

Questions and/or participant registration, contact:
Cece Saunders, cece@historicalperspectives.org, 203-984-1488

2:00 PM Nature Walk

Discover Sherwood Island! Go beach to beach and discover habitats, inhabitants, and special features (9/11 Memorial, Model Airport, wetlands, pine forest) of this waterfront Gateway park.

Go beach to beach on a Fun Walk along Long Island Sound- discover habitats, inhabitants, birding locations, viewing platforms, a purple martin enclave, and other special features of this waterfront Gateway park. Other points of park interest include Connecticut’s 9/11 Memorial, model aircraft Airport, Trail heads, wetlands, and a pine forest.

Leader(s): Louis Pietig
Total Distance: 2.5 miles

Meeting Place:
Meet at the Sherwood Island State Park Nature Center. Ask at the Park gate, turn left at East Beach, parking lot is adjacent to the Nature Center.

Rain Plan & Registration Details:
Rain or shine.
Pre-registration is APPRECIATED.

Questions and/or participant registration, contact:
Cece Saunders, cece@historicalperspectives.org, 203-984-1488