Conservation at the Greenwich Audubon Center: Transforming Gimbel Sanctuary

Leaves crunched underfoot as the team made its way through thickets of mugwort, multiflora rose, and porcelain vine. 

“Believe it or not, this area used to be an orchard,” quipped John Fairty, land and facilities manager for the Greenwich Audubon Center. He and the group with him were walking through Gimbel Sanctuary, located just ten minutes away from the main sanctuary property. “It’s been a long time.”

The group, which included staff from the Greenwich Audubon Center and Greenwich Land Trust, continued its slow advance along half-buried log rounds and over long-forgotten stumps. The invasive plants had certainly made their presence known, turning the once-flourishing orchard into a blanket of thorny shrubs and sprawling vines.

But there were plenty of signs of the former ecosystem for those who knew where to look: a healthy white ash sapling over here, a collection of goldenrod over there, and, on the area’s southern boundary, a thicket of nannyberry viburnum with berries still evident.

These observations were made in early February; only a few months later, the Gimbel Audubon Sanctuary has been greatly transformed!

Located in western Greenwich, Connecticut, Gimbel spans 80-acres of field, forest, and orchard. It’s one of seven properties maintained by the Greenwich Audubon Center. Work on the site began early this year, with assessments of potential partnership opportunities and future restoration needs.

Back in February, the list was long. Invasive plant species had spread, resulting in the loss of native meadow habitat, the death of several orchard apple trees, and overgrown, inaccessible trails. After the assessment, both the Greenwich Audubon Center and Greenwich Land Trust were in agreement: the site was long overdue for some serious change.

Thanks to the hard work of Greenwich Audubon Center staff, interns, and partners, that change is well on its way!

Over the summer, the center’s Eco-Leadership Corps—an internship program for high school students interested in the environment and conservation—spent 8 sweat-filled weeks removing debris, cutting back invasive plants, and tagging native plant species for preservation.

The team was able to successfully clear the entirety of the former orchard area, removing more than 100 cubic yards of invasive plant material and other debris.

With the area cleared, the Eco-Leaders were able to identify several high-value native plant species still present in the area to preserve: nannyberry, red-stemmed dogwood, swamp milkweed, a few residual apple trees, among others.

Protecting these plants will provide important structure and winter food supply for resident birds and other wildlife and, as seeds are naturally dispersed, help promote a more robust native plant population at the site.

Building on the Eco-Leader’s impressive efforts, in early November, Audubon staff partnered with Apple Greenwich to complete improvement work along the sanctuary’s entrance trail. This team of 13 build and installed 144 feet of boardwalk—built with lumber milled from hazardous trees removed from the Main Sanctuary property—to enhance site accessibility and visitor safety.

While restoration efforts are still in the early stages of implementation, they mark an important first step toward larger-scale and more comprehensive management that will keep this site healthy and accessible for birds and people year after year!

Next time you drive by Gimbel Sanctuary, we invite you to stop by and explore the progress that’s been made. If you look closely, you may even see a few old apple trees—monuments to an ecosystem lost, and guideposts for a healthier, more bird-friendly future.