CONSERVATION

The Conservation Committee is an active and integral part of the Club and the greater Wilton community.  Partnering with other local organizations, this committee which boasts a number of talented CT Master Gardeners, plays a key role in educating Club members and the community on many conservation issues.  The creation of the Wilton Pollinator Pathway , and the Marybeth Wheeler Herbarium, are a few examples of their impressive collaborative work efforts.

To learn more about the Conservation Committees’ past and current projects/accomplishments, click on the toggles below.   Additional information about the Conservation Committee can be found in the brochure link below.  Conservation related resources are available here.  

  • Created The Grotto Garden and the Mary Comstock Wildflower Garden located behind Old Town Hall.
  • Created The Hurlbutt Street Schoolhouse Memorial Wildflower Garden.
  • Created, and subsequently digitized, the Marybeth Wheeler Herbarium featuring hundreds of specimens of native flora, meticulously pressed, mounted, and systematically arranged for study.
  • Published a book in 1992, “The Ferns and Flowering Plants of Wilton”.
  • Established the Wilton Center Tree Committee and Wilton Center Tree Plan in 2008.
  • Partnered with the Norwalk River Watershed Association and the Town of Wilton in an America the Beautiful grant to plant 15 new shade trees along the edge of Allen’s Meadow playing fields in 2010.
  • Exhibited at the 2013 Winter Conference for the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut.
  • Co-hosted the Residential Rain Garden Training Workshop with UCONN in 2013.
  • Organized the “Discover Outdoor Wilton” Photo Contest in 2013 and “Wilton Walks” Photo Contest in 2014, resulting in the publication of 2 calendars using winning photos from these contests.
  • Established the Pollinator Pathway in 2017 in conjunction with several other local conservation organizations. The pathway is a pollinator-friendly habitat and food source for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinating insects and wildlife along continuous corridors running through Wilton and its surrounding towns.
  • Co-sponsors monthly walks in Open Space Town Parks in collaboration with the Wilton Conservation Commission.
  • Participates in the Wilton Go Green Festivals and the Zero Waste Fair. Award-winning exhibits include: edible gardening, identifying and removing invasive plants, recycling, and native plants and composting.
  • Exhibits at the Norwalk/Wilton Tree Festivals.
  • Partners with the Norwalk River Watershed Association (NRWA) and Builders Without Borders to remove invasive plants and replace with native tree, shrub, fern and wildflower plantings, along the banks of the Norwalk River at Wilton’s Merwin Meadows Park, the Norwalk River Valley Trail and the Chess Park at Schenck’s Island.
  • Educates local Boy and Girl Scout troops on conservation issues.