Wilton Garden Club

Norwalk Tree Festival on Saturday, May 16, 2009 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Wilton Garden Club participated in The Norwalk-Wilton Tree Festival in May, 2009, a collaboration of four partners in the two communities and a family fun day to promote the urban forest,  at Cranbury Park in Norwalk. Festival partners were the Town of Wilton, the Wilton Garden Club, the City of Norwalk, and the Norwalk Tree Alliance.

The festival offers activities like a popular rope tree-climb for kids secured in harnesses and hard hats (see photograph), showcases a diverse lineup of environmentally-minded exhibitors in tents, and includes demonstrations by tree care experts as primers for the home owner. Food and drink is provided free of charge at the festival. Ample parking is available at Cranbury Park and door prizes are distributed at regular intervals.

Jessica Kaplan, chairman of Wilton's tree committee and co-chairman of the conservation committee of the garden club, said: "The festival gives us a wonderful opportunity to focus attention on our urban trees, a resource often overlooked. We can learn so much from each other and enhance each community's approach to protecting a valuable environmental asset, all in an exciting and educational way."

Cranbury Park is located north of the Merritt Parkway off Grumman Avenue. It covers 190 wooded acres with 8 trails for hikers and bikers, a sculpture garden, a remarkable weeping beech with multiple trunks, an 18-hole Frisbee course and a covered pavilion for picnics.

For more information about the May,2010 festival, contact either Jessica Kaplan (kaplan356@aol.com) or Paula Byrdy (pbyrdy@aol.com), both of whom are members of Wilton's Tree Committee.

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