The Aspetuck Land Trust's annual meeting and first speaker series event at the historic Pequot Library in Southport was enjoyed by more the 250 attendees. Land trust members and the general public gathered to learn about preservation efforts in the towns of Westport, Fairfield, Easton and Weston and to hear New York Times best-selling author and preservationist Clive Cussler. Cussler's action-adventure novels are published in over 100 countries with a readership of more than 125 million.

Executive director David Brant highlighted recent accomplishments such as the creation of the Paul Newman/Lilian Poses Nature Preserve and the construction of the area’s first hands-on natural playground at the Leonard Schine Preserve in Westport.

Prior to the event, the Land Trust hosted a cocktail reception at the Southport home of Ellen and John Levinson for donors and board members to meet Clive and his wife Janet, who is originally from Fairfield. The Levinson's home overlooking Southport Harbor was a beautiful setting as Clive spoke about his real-life adventures discovering over 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites including the C.S.S. Hunley, best known as the first submarine to sink a ship in battle, and the remains of the Carpathia, the ship that braved icebergs to rescue the survivor's of the Titanic.