IN THE STUDIO

This summer, we were contacted by the Open Space and Land Acquisition Committee of Southington to create a 3-5 minute promo for the Southington Open Space program.

What is Open Space you might ask? It’s the type of land that towns and their citizens want to keep in a pristine, natural state without any future threat of development. It can be protected by municipalities so people can enjoy large, natural spaces minutes from home as well as activities like fishing, hiking, bicycling, picnic areas, playing fields, kayaking, boating and cross-country skiing. Throughout Southington and its villages, there are 29 Open Space parcels. These spaces are great areas for nature activities, and some of them are also great historical landmarks; such as the Milldale Train Depot parcel, which is a historical museum that depicts the railway history of the Farmington Canal Railway (now the Linear Trail in Southington). These spaces are important for the town of Southington not only for their natural value, but their preservation of family heritage for the families of Southington.

Though some of the land acquisition was funded by grants and tax dollars, much of the land is donated to the town to preserve family history. The Lewis Family Parcel was donated to Southington about 10 years ago by Reverend Margaret Lewis. Part of this property is used by Lewis Family Farm on Bellevue Avenue to grow much of its produce as well as conduct other community-centric activities, like their summer camp program. The Goat Island property was donated by the Angelillo Family in 2008 and holds a great history with Southington’s Italian-American population. With the availability of all these wonderful properties for citizens' use, the need to share this information with a sharable video became apparent.  What better way to tell people about these wonderful spaces than by showcasing them in a video?

The video -- soon to be released --  is going to give an overview to all citizens of where these parcels are, what they are, and how they will be useful to Southington’s citizens. Before now, many people only knew of places like the Milldale Train Depot and Crescent Lake, but there are 29 different properties open to the public for use - each with their own idiosynchracies and natural beauty that everyone of any age can appreciate. This kind of news needs to get around town and this video will help put a face to the name for these great Open Spaces so all residents can enjoy them.

Check out the Southington Interactive map to see the parcels (and where they are around town):
https://gis.southington.org/openspace/
and stay tuned for the upcoming video by Miceli Productions!