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Woodlands

Waveny Park includes 83 acres of deciduous woodlands and 3.5 miles of hiking trails. The trails, which are a final piece in New Canaan’s Greenlink Trail meander through the woods from Farm Road, past the main park entrance on South Avenue, along the Merritt Parkway and back alongside Lapham Road.

The woods themselves, with twenty species of native trees, boast double the typical number of local woodlands and an equally diverse undergrowth for a wide range of wildlife.

As you walk through the park, you may notice different densities of woods, often marking old growth woods from newer growth on areas that were once farmed. For example, the woods along the Merritt Parkway trail are thought to have been open meadows or hay fields. The presence of mature red cedars are a giveaway as they need open light to grow and indicate areas previously farmed. A key part of the Conservancy’s mission is to manage the woodlands with a view to gradually erasing invasive species so that future generations can continue to enjoy a thriving and healthy forest.

The woods, however, suffer from extensive invasive species that threaten their health. Norway maples crowd out native species while only twenty acres of the woodlands are free from vines. Other invasives include privet, barberry, honeysuckle and euonymus. While invasives crowd out native species, they also do not provide cover and food for native insects like native vegetation does. The result is a chain reaction down the food chain, made worse by deer eating young tree saplings.