Bates Friends Forever

NEW LONDON, CT

Upcoming Events

June 27 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
July 4 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
July 11 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
July 18 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
July 25 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
August 1 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
August 8 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
August 15 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
August 22 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
August 29 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
September 5 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
September 12 2026 9 AM - Noon Clean up Day
September 19 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
September 26 2026 9 AM - Noon Planting Day!
September 27 2026 Sunday afternoon Planting Day!
October 3 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
October 10 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
October 17 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
October 24 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
October 25 1 PM Invasive Plant Grant Update Community Meeting
October 31 2026 9 AM - Noon Invasive Workday
December 5 9 AM - Noon Clean up Day

Please fill out our survey! It helps us to understand how folks use the woods and what the community would like to see. Find the survey here

SOIL

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OUR PURPOSE

Bates Friends Forever is a group of neighbors advocating for the stewardship of Bates Woods, an awesome park and open space in New London, Connecticut.

Bates Woods has rich educational, recreational and scientific history and unlimited potential.

Our Work

Forestry Management Plant
Riparian Grant Work
Trail Map
Trail Maintenance
Quarterly Litter Pick Ups

A word of thanks to DEEP CT

Bates Friends Forever, and our fiscal sponsor Riverside Park Conservancy, would like to thank the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Projection (CT DEEP) for their support in our efforts to encourage connection, foster stewardship and increase access to Bates Woods, New London’s largest public parkland!

We are working under two Urban and Community Forestry DEEP grants in 2025-2026: one to combat invasive plants and another to complete a Forest Management Plan. Many of our activities through Spring of 2026 will be in support of these two endeavors.

Thanks so much to CT DEEP!

Saturday's root ball competition champion. Who's ready to make knotweed pickles?

Have you seen this plant? Also known as strangleweed, scaldweed, fireweed, wizard's net, devil's guts, devil's hair, devil's ringlet, goldthread, hailweed, hairweed, hellbine, love vine, pull-down, angel hair, and witch's hair - dodder is a parasitic plant with no leaves of its own, that sends spikes into the host plant to grab its nutrients. Our dedicated BFF volunteers were pulling it this weekend along with knotweed, greenbriar and other invasive.

We’re in @thedayct! See what New London reporter John Penney wrote about BFF and the future of Bates Woods at the link in our bio. It’s a good DAY (get it?) to learn about New London’s forest AND support your local paper by reading and subscribing 📰🌳

We need your help! Meet us every Saturday at 9am at the BFF shed near Animal Control. Volunteers are provided with tools and gloves. Wear long pants and big spray!
#batesfriendsforever #bateswoods #newlondonct #bateswoodspark

This Saturday's work day we're gonna free these Sassafras trees from Wisteria!

6/20 9 to noon.

Interested in volunteering with us? Meet us at the BFF shed around 9 by New London Animal Control

#batesfriendsforever
#bateswoods
#bateswoodspark #newlondonct

Trail alert! Big loop blazes are going up! This trail goes around the back side of the solar array to connect Kale Trail and Popsicle Peak.

Check out the trail map on our website!
#batesfriendsforever #bateswoods #newlondonct

We had a great #CTtrailsDay hike yesterday with celebrated local historian Tom Schuch who led us to the mysterious powder house in the middle of the woods 🌳🦎 See link in bio for the article in @thedayct 📰 @ctforestandparkassociation

We’re standing on business. AND We’re standing on a new bridge that JD and Kate built! The Kale Trail is a little cooler now. Figure out how to get there at the trail map link in our bio.

Knotweed at skate hut, before and after. That was so fun, maybe we'll do it again next week!

It’s spring in Bates Woods Park! 🪺

Walk or roll down the road past the playground and the animal control building and you’ll find trails, trees, rocks, swamps and a little bit of magic.

Need a map?

batesfriendsforever.org

Want to take out your troubles on an invasive plant?

We're holding workdays every Saturday until July 2026. We will meet at our yellow container near Animal Control at 9am and head out soon after.

🌸 Everyone is welcome, and you don't need to stay for the entire duration of the time specified.

🍃 Everyone is welcome to work at their own speed and to leave early if needed. We intend to work til noon.

🧤We will provide tools and gloves, feel free to bring your own if you want!

🚰 Remember to bring water.

Did you know there’s a forest in New London?

Hundreds of plant and animal species live in Bates Woods Park beyond the playground and pavilion. Let’s learn about the past and future of this New London gem and how we can help it thrive!

Last year Bates Friends Forever got a grant from CT DEEP (the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection) to hire forester Christopher Riely to take a close look at what’s in the woods.

His report is the first step towards making our largest public forest healthier, more diverse and more resilient to climate change.

Riely will share his report, and we’ll discuss:

🍃 The history of Bates Woods
🍃 How the park is being used now
🍃 What’s living in the park
🍃 What should happen in Bates Woods in the next 10 years
🍃 What we can do as New London residents to keep the woods a healthy place for humans, plants and animals

Together we will begin the work of implementing this ambitious and important plan for conserving open space and preserving a natural forest within New London.

Dinner is at 5:30, Presentation begins at 6pm.

This event is free and open to the public. RSVP at the FB link in our bio and stories or by emailing batesfriendsforever@gmail.com so we know how much food to get, please!

Child care is available, please email batesfriendsforever@gmail.com if that would be helpful!

Invasive workday tomorrow! See you at 9am at the BFF shed. We ride out to slash knotweed at 9.15. if you're late and miss the group send a message here.
#batesfriendsforever #weride #newlondonct #whaletail #bateswoods

UPCOMING EVENTS! May 16 1 - 3 pm Edible Plant Walk / Guided Hike
June 4 Forest Management Plan closing celebration at NL Recreation Center - 5:30 dinner; 6:00 forester presentation
June 6 9 am-noon Quarterly Park Clean up Day
June 7 2pm CT Trails Day Powder House hike with Tom Schuch

Have you found Bates Woods' geocache yet? Send us a message if you need help getting started!

fairies are fun! magic is manifest! adventure awaits!

Join us tomorrow for a guided walk through Bates Woods. This short walk will feature many natural and man made features at Bates. Meet at the Bates Friends Forever container at 1 PM

#newlondonct #newlondonoutdoor #batesfriendsforever #bateswoods #whaletale

Do fairies eat fiddlehead ferns? Come find out at Earth Day Fest this weekend.

With the weather warming up it's a great time to check out the trails at Bates. You can use this map to navigate through 3 miles of trails!

It's a beautiful time of the year in Bates Woods! Walking down the paths you'll see plants waking up from a long sleep and starting to unfurl new green leaves.

What is your favorite outdoor spring activity?

#batesfriendsforever #bateswoods #bateswoodspark #newlondonct

Come out for a fun Earth Day Festival April 25th 10am to 1pm. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy art and crafts, plant give aways, fairy village hikes and more!
#batesfriendsforever #newlondonct #bateswoods #bateswoodspark

We had a great guided walk to the Powder House in Bates Woods on Saturday 4/4! Here's a pic of Amy and Fred at the Powder House.

Are you interested in joining in our next walk? We offer many throughout the year. For the current schedule check out our website (link in bio). The walks are typically easy and around 2.5 miles in total length.

#batesfriendsforever #bateswoods #newlondonct #bateswoodspark

We had a great workday last week! Many thanks to all our great volunteers from @uconn who helped to pick up trash. Remove graffiti, cut invasive vines and remediate water flow off a trail and in to a stream!
#batesfriendsforever #bateswoods #newlondonct #bateswoodspark

We had a great workday last week, here's an action pic of our great @uconn volunteers hard at work removing graffiti from the roads of the park!
#batesfriendsforever #bateswoods #bateswoodspark #newlondonct

We had a great work day last week, and there will be many posts to show all the work. Here is one great project that got done: fixing the water ways on Jack In The Pulpit trail, this was an important project to create waterways so that rain water does not flow down the path.

#batesfriendsforever #bateswoods #bateswoodspark #newlondonct

June 7 is Connecticut Trails Day! We'll be in Bates Woods. Where will you be?

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Follow us on Instagram

@batesfriendsforever

CONTACT

Contact

Chester Street

New London, CT 06320

batesfriendsforever@gmail