A national nonprofit is competing against time to save 350 acres of pristine Connecticut wilderness that houses a beloved Girls Scouts camp.
Camp Laurel, located at 175 Clubhouse Road in Lebanon, sits on a large track of undeveloped forest that is considered ecologically significant with rivers, streams and a six-mile network of walking trails. But the land could be lost if $150,000 is not raised by March 2026, according to the Trust for Public Land.
The nonprofit is looking to help purchase the property to preserve it for future generations. So far, the nonprofit has raised $2.3 million in public and private funds to secure the property, but the organization said they are around $150,000 short of their goal to keep the property undeveloped and maintain its use as public lands.
“The opportunity to protect 350 acres in Connecticut is very significant,” said Walker Holmes, Connecticut state director for the Trust for Public Land. “This is an unfragmented forest block and very close to the Air Line State Park Trail and Mono Pond State Park. We worked with the state of Connecticut and the town of Columbia a few years ago to triple the size of Mono Pond State Park. So this 350 acres of land will significantly increase the amount of protected land in the area. It’s a rare opportunity to further increase public lands.
“Connecticut doesn’t have a lot of wild land left, so when an opportunity arises to save 350 acres to ensure that it remains forested, it benefits everyone involved,” Holmes added. “We are all about connecting everyone to the outdoors, and we believe that everyone deserves access to nature. The joys and benefits you can get from the outdoors are numerous. So this is a really special opportunity because it is also home to a summer camp. A place where kids can go outside and play in nature. We want to preserve that.”
The Trust for Public Land, which is based out of San Francisco, has completed several conservation projects in Connecticut. In total, the organization has conserved 8,495 acres of land and has 108 active and completed projects statewide. Notable projects the group has helped conserve include Mystic River Boathouse Park, Coogan Farm in Stonington, Mill River Park in Stamford and the Ethel Walker Woods in Simsbury. The nonprofit has its regional headquarters in New Haven.
The 350-acre property is currently owned by the Girl Scouts of Connecticut. Under the plan to preserve the property, the Girl Scouts will retain about 13 acres, including keeping its troop house at Camp Laurel, Holmes said. Girl Scouts programming would also be preserved along with outdoor activities like hiking, horseback riding, swimming and boating. The rest of the property would be opened up for public use, she said. Around six miles of trails would also be accessible to the public.
Camp Laurel was recommended to be sold in 2021 after the Girl Scouts hired an outside consultant firm to evaluate its properties. But the decision was ultimately made to retain a portion of the property for summer programming after an outpouring of support, according to Felicia DelGiudice, chief financial and administrative officer for the Girl Scouts of Connecticut.
Camp Laurel hosted its last-ever sleep away summer camp this year. Going forward, the plan is for the camp to be used for day programming only, DelGiudice said.
“While caring for the land for so many years, we are grateful to join with the Trust for Public Land to retain its natural beauty,” DelGiudice said. “This partnership lets us keep offering meaningful outdoor experiences to our members, while also ensuring the wider community can enjoy this special place.
“Nowadays there’s so much technology with kids, they need a place to go outdoors and have human connection. Camp Laurel is a place to learn about nature and develop skills because technology can really lead to social isolation. So just being outdoors, making friends and having adult mentors is so important for our kids,” she said.
Holmes said that while the majority of the funds have been raised, it’s this last hurdle that needs to be cleared, before the property can be preserved.
“If the money is not raised in time, it is very likely the property goes to a developer,” Holmes said. “So we really are working against the clock here. We have exhausted all public grant money and are now in need of private donations at this time to close the funding gap.”
Holmes said that the conservation efforts are a collaboration between the Trust for Public Land, the Girl Scouts of Connecticut, the town of Lebanon and the Avalonia Land Conservancy. If the land is secured by the Trust for Public Land, it will be owned and managed by the Avalonia Land Conservancy. The conservancy preserves more than 5,000 acres throughout southwestern Connecticut. All donations must be received by March 1, 2026, according to the nonprofit.
To help conserve Camp Laurel, donations can be made at tpl.org.
Stephen Underwood can be reached at [email protected].