Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center Requests Community Input as it Charts a Course for the Next Three Years

The Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center (DPNC), a cornerstone of environmental education and conservation in southeastern Connecticut, is proud to announce the launch of a comprehensive strategic planning initiative aimed at guiding the organization through the next three years.

Since its establishment in 1946, DPNC has been dedicated to connecting the community with nature. DPNC is based at two locations: the woodland campus featuring a trailside museum and classrooms on Pequotsepos Road, leased from the Denison Society, and Coogan Farm on Greenmanville Avenue, which DPNC acquired in 2014, saving the property from development. Over the decades, the Nature Center has expanded its programs and services on both properties and currently offers:

• Raptor rehabilitation and animal rescue
• Trailside museum on Pequotsepos Road
• Greenway with 10-mile network of hiking trails
• Classes and hikes for all ages
• School outreach programs
• Nature Preschool
• Before- and after-school nature-based programs
• Seasonal community events, including the Wild Mushroom Festival, Spooky Nature Trail, Luminaria Walk, and Woodland Egg Hunt
• The Craig Floyd Giving Garden at Coogan Farm

Since the recent departure of Executive Director Davnet Conway, Interim Executive Director Kim Hargrave has ensured continuity of nature programming while the board and staff engage with the community to determine the Center's direction. Hargrave reflects, “This is an exciting time for DPNC as we partner with the community to develop a vision for the Nature Center’s future and a plan to achieve it.”

DPNC has partnered with Fio Partners, a respected Connecticut consulting firm that serves nonprofit organizations, to facilitate the process. This comprehensive effort will incorporate input from DPNC staff, board members, key stakeholders, and the community. Guided by this feedback, the organization will confirm its mission and establish a shared vision for the future. Programs and facilities at both campuses will be evaluated to determine a path forward that strengthens the ability to support current programs and realize future potential. The plan will also address inclusive practices to expand programming, public activities, and environmental stewardship, with a focus on furthering the mission by enhancing the interpretation of the connection between nature and human communities.

Fio Partners will guide a Design Team of staff and board members to frame key questions and gather input through surveys, focus groups, and interviews with stakeholders, funders, policymakers, and the general public. A series of community forums will help refine priorities and shape organizational decisions. This process will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to address key strategic issues such as future programs and services, facilities, and other suggestions for the organization’s future work, ensuring the needs of a diverse constituency are met.

Community input is vital to this endeavor. DPNC invites the public to participate in a survey and attend one of the upcoming community forums to share their thoughts and suggest ways DPNC can change to meet community needs:

• In-Person Community Forum at DPNC: March 27, 7:00–8:00 pm, at DPNC (109 Pequotsepos Rd, Mystic, CT)
• Virtual Zoom Community Forum #1: March 29, 11:00 am–12:00 pm
• Virtual Zoom Community Forum #2: April 2, 5:00–6:00 pm

Links:

Survey (English): https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DPNCCommunity

Encuesta (en Español): https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DPNCenEspanol

3/29 Forum Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/7N8mUVIhSTy7eoPLklNjxw

4/2 Forum Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/WPvhjcpSQfaELVxqssvkpw

The planning process and consultant cost is generously funded by a grant from the Community Foundation of Eastern CT (CFECT), a Capacity Grant from CT Humanities, and private donations.

For more information, please contact Alissa Ryan, Marketing & Communications Director, at alissa@dpnc.org.

About the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center:

DPNC has been fostering an appreciation for nature and encouraging environmental stewardship since 1946. Through diverse public and private programs and preserved lands, the Center offers the community a place to experience nature's wonders firsthand. Visitors can explore more than 10 miles of diverse trails, walk among 17th century stonewalls, woodlands, wetlands, and meadows, and enjoy views across the Mystic River and beyond. At the DPNC’s main facility, guests can discover nature through meeting rehabilitated wildlife and natural history exhibits. The creation of the Coogan Farm in 2013 has added additional layers of education, history, and a Giving Garden that donates thousands of pounds of bio-nutrient rich produce to the food insecure of New London County each year.

Mission: “To inspire an understanding of the natural world and ourselves as part of it—past, present, and future.”