Canterbury

Campagna Preserve

Local wildlife and water quality in Canterbury got a boost thanks to a donation of land from the Campagna family to the Wyndham Land Trust in December of 219. The 58-acre property donated to the land trust sits on the west side of Brooklyn Road in Canterbury. An expansive swamp sits along the northern boundary, and the pristine wetland is home to a diverse array of animals and plants. The swamp feeds into Downing Brook which continues through the property before entering the New River. The property has a mixture of oak forest, white pine stands,and red maple swamp and is riddled by stonewalls—a testament to hard scrabble farming activity from previous generations.“The property is located in a large undeveloped forest in Canterbury,” said the trust’s land manager,Andy Rzeznikiewicz.“The land trust holds a conservation easement nearby on 100 acres. Large unbroken forest lots are critical for supporting wildlife, and I’m happy to see this protected. We want to have more of a presence in the towns in the southern part of our range—Canterbury, Sterling,and Plainfield—so this is a great opportunity for the land trust.” Local hearing specialist, Ralph Campagna, steered the donation to the land trust with support from his five siblings. The land was acquired by Campagna’s grandfather in the 1950s and passed down through two generations. “I walked the property with Andy Rzeznikiewicz,” remembered Campagna. “It was a beautiful day, and his enthusiasm for the property was infectious. I always knew it was a special place, and his visit reinforced our family’s decision to donate the land. We wanted to keep it intact, just as it was hundreds of years ago.”