Cooley Brook Project

The Town of Longmeadow invites our community to participate in a three-day visioning workshop in May 2024 for the Cooley Brook Restoration Project through Bliss and Laurel Parks. The purpose of the event is to listen and respond to the community as the Town begins the process of restoring the brook and making improvements to Bliss and Laurel Parks. Residents are invited to attend any and all events they are interested in, all which are co-hosted with Connecticut River Conservancy and the Town’s engineering consultants Fuss & O’Neill. You can also support the project through summer programming at Storrs Library

Walk and Talk – On Sunday, May 5th from 1:30 to 3:30 pm – The Town will host a site walk in Laurel Park with opportunities for group discussion and one-on-one conversations to hear from community members about their experience of the park and brook, what they value about the site as it is now, and what they hope to see, feel, or experience at the site in the future. Participants can join anytime and can meet in the dirt parking area.

Open House – On Monday, May 6th anytime between 5-7pm – The Town and its design team will use Monday, May 6th to begin working on conceptual plans for Cooley Brook and the parks that reflect what we heard from the community during the walk and talk and during previous events over the years. Community members are invited to drop in, view our progress, and share questions or ideas at Community House (735 Longmeadow Street).

Presentation – On Tuesday, May 7th from 6-7:30pm – The Town will host a public presentation and discussion of the design concepts, and collect feedback on how well they capture the community’s vision or what changes need to be made. This will also be at Community House (735 Longmeadow Street)

More information on the Cooley Brook Watershed Improvements Project can be found on the Town’s website here. For more information on the project, please email Assistant Town Manager Corrin Meise-Munns at cmeisemunns@longmeadow.org

Nature Quest – Wednesdays, June 12th, June 26th, July 3rd, July 10th, July 17th, July 24th, July 31st, August 7th 10-11am – Children of all ages are invited to explore nature around Bliss Park! Visit the Storrs Library Book Bike, listen to a story and follow scavenger hunts (either paper or through the iNaturalist Seek Application) to learn about the local environment! This program is weather dependent.

Watershed Program with Jennifer Lapis – June 27th 1-2:30pm at Laurel Park.

Find more Storrs Library Programs here.