Six local high school and college students are spending their summer pulling invasive plants by the bagful and carving trails through Gimbel Sanctuary in Byram, part of a growing conservation corridor along the Byram River.

The students are this year's cohort of the Greenwich Audubon Center's Ecoleader Internship, a hands-on summer program that pairs young people with real restoration work. Griffin Porphy, Andrew McGibbon, Madeline McCusker, Evan Dwyer, Jordan "Briar" Lissauer and Valeria Gutierrez make up the 2026 crew, led by returning crew lead Nora Lowrey.

Their target: mugwort, garlic mustard and mile-a-minute vine choking the sanctuary's native habitat. Within about a week and a half of starting, the team had cleared at least a 100-foot radius of mowed and managed ground and built a boardwalk that marks the beginning of a maintained trail system, the Greenwich Sentinel reported on Wednesday, Aug. 5.

"They're all extremely enthusiastic about the work," Lowrey told the Sentinel. "They all have found their place. Some like to put their head down and go crazy, some like to form groups; they're really finding their individual strengths and balancing each other out."

Lowrey, who also led the program in 2025, said keeping morale high is central to her role. Invasive-species management can feel like a never-ending process, she noted, and she works to prevent burnout while maintaining momentum.

Why Gimbel matters

The sanctuary sits within the Byram River Greenway, a 249-acre, 2.75-mile conservation corridor stretching north to south through northwest Greenwich. The greenway is composed of the Greenwich Land Trust's Byram River Preserve and Lapham Preserve, Greenwich Audubon conservation land and Town of Greenwich open space, according to Connecticut DEEP's official greenways registry.

On Thursday, Aug. 6, the Greenwich Land Trust that the corridor had received official state greenway designation from the Connecticut Greenways Council and CT DEEP.

The designation protects the ecological integrity of the area and promotes environmental stewardship, the organization said. A new hiking trail network connecting the three partner properties is planned.

Greenwich Land Trust Executive Director Will Kies described the stretch to Greenwich Time in July 2024, when he first presented the greenway trail concept publicly: "It's a beautiful stretch. I mean, I don't think that there's a stretch of town like this. It's just really unique and special once you get in there and we want to be able to share it with the community."

The planned trail would run approximately 2.5 miles roughly parallel to the Byram River through land owned by the Greenwich Land Trust, Greenwich Audubon and the town.

The interns

The Ecoleader program has tackled a different project each year. In 2023, interns planted the Siwanoy Forest at the main Audubon sanctuary. In 2024, they managed invasives and planted a pollinator garden. Work at Gimbel Sanctuary began in 2025 and continues this summer.

Briar Lissauer, 15, a Girl Scout, said the decision to apply was easy. "Backpacking, camping, I'm in Girl Scouts. I've just always been immersed," she told the Sentinel. "I wanted to have a summer job where I was able to be outside and do these things, and when I saw I could apply here, it was the perfect opportunity."

Porphy, a college student studying sustainable development, said the internship taught him that greenways serve people as well as wildlife. Instead of driving to a trailhead, he said, residents could walk through the greenway already in their neighborhood.

The program also includes kayaking and other outdoor recreation as part of a professional development component that lets interns explore conservation careers.

Residents interested in the Byram River Greenway can follow updates at gltrust.org or through the Greenwich Audubon Center. No public opening date for the trail network has been announced.