Hike-a-Thon

SOUTHBURY — Southbury Land Trust, Inc., is sponsoring a hike-a-thon at the Platt Farm and the adjacent Platt Park to raise money to buy the farm and preserve it as open space. The event will be held Sunday, October 15, at the farm on Flood Bridge Road (rain date is a week later).

Participants are asked to seek pledges of donations from friends and neighbors to help the Land Trust raise the final $200,000 needed to purchase the 131-acre farm.

Participants will hike on the lower meadow of the farm, which borders the Pomperaug River. Registration starts at 1:30 pm. Participants are asked to make a minimum pledge of $10 ($5 for children and $25 for families). Hikers will receive a T-shirt to commemorate the event, and prizes donated by sponsoring businesses will be raffled.

Refreshments will be offered, but it is suggested hikers bring their own water for drinking while on the trail. After participants hike on the farm, they will be invited to hike the trails in the adjacent Platt Park, owned by the Town of Southbury.

Registration and pledge forms are available at local businesses, public buildings, and from members of the Land Trust. For early sign-up or further information, contact Regina Badura or Egbert Most at 264-6678. Those registering by the end of September will receive trail maps and descriptions of the trails.

The Land Trust needs $1.4 million to purchase the farm. So far, it has $1.2 million, which includes $450,000 from the State Department of Environmental Protection, $260,000 approved by Southbury voters in a referendum in October 1999, and $450,000 donated the Land Trust. The option to buy the land from Willis and Lillian Platt expires at the end of the year.