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A town resident dumps recyclable materials at the Wilton Transfer Station on July 26, 2018.
File photo / Erik Trautmann/Hearst Connecticut Media
Historical Society hosts basket weaving class
Baskets have been created across the world both as useful tools and a decorative art for thousands of years.
On Saturday, March 18, from 11 a.m. to noon, the Wilton Historical Society will hold a Basket Weaving with Rattan Workshop for kids.
In Wilton, both Indigenous peoples and later Colonial settlers used baskets large and small for all sorts of purposes, including drying herbs, carrying crops, and as long term storage containers. Even into the 20th century, baskets were used by many of Wilton’s apple farmers during the fall harvest season.
Weaving with rattan, which is also known as reed, continues to be a popular practice, as it is pliable, organic, sturdy, and readily available.
Museum educator Catherine Lipper will discuss the construction and uses of baskets over time, while participants become absorbed in creating their own artifacts.
A snack of Triscuits with apple juice will be offered for aspiring artisans to enjoy.
The workshop is suggested for kids ages 6 to 10. The cost for members is $10 per child; for nonmembers, $15 per child.
To register visit wiltonhistorical.org or email info@wiltonhistorical.org.
The Wilton Historical Society is located 224 Danbury Road.
Four-part series offered on green topics
The Trackside Teen Center, the Wilton Garden Club, Wilton Go Green and the Wilton Conservation Commission are holding a four-part workshop series called “Down & Dirty with The Green Team.”
The events will take place in March at the Trackside Teen Center.
The workshops are open to the public and will provide answers to lots of questions people have related to gardening, conservation, and sustainability.
For example, these are some of the many questions that will be answered in the courses:
What are the recycling rules in town? How can my family’s table scraps help the environment? How can I make garden art? What’s upcycling? How do you make a mini greenhouse? Are worms good? How do I arrange those flowers I grew? What makes a good pollinator garden?
Green Team facilitators will have the answer to all those questions and more in the workshops.
The series is open to adults and Wilton middle and high school students as an after-school activity. Each workshop will be held on Thursdays from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Pam Nobumoto and Laurie Musilli, who manage the Green Teens group during spring and summer, said they wanted to extend their garden and conservation program to the entire community in the winter.
They reached out to Lori Fields, director of Trackside Teen Center, "who loved the concept and suggested we put together a series of workshops for the public,” Musilli said.
“Laurie and I are thrilled with these workshops, which will be packed with
information on how we can all become better stewards of our environment with some gardening and creative fun thrown in for the mix. We are also grateful to the workshop facilitators who will volunteer their time and expertise and to the Trackside team,” Nobumoto said.
The dates and topics are:
• March 2: Winter Seed Sowing with Anne Djupedal Gura and Wayne Gura
• March 9: Pollinator Pathways & Growing Your Own Natives with Jackie Algon and Dave Havens
• March 16: Garden Art and Floral Design with Dana Wolfson, Gretchen Kilmartin and Michele Klink
• March 23: Recycling, Zero Waste and Backyard Composting with Tammy Thornton and Jackie Algon
Space is limited, and registration is required. The cost for entire workshop series is $50. Trackside membership is not required. Trackside Teen Center is located at 15 Station Road.
For more information on the workshops, facilitators and registration, visit www.trackside.org/garden-club-spring-workshop.html.
Learn about waste, recycling at Talkin' Trash
The Wilton Library will host Talkin’ Trash with Jennifer Heaton-Jones executive director of the Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority on Thursday, March 9, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Managing waste and knowing what to recycle can be confusing. The Wilton Library and Wilton Go Green are sponsoring this family-friendly event to teach about where the garbage and recycling goes after leaving the Town of Wilton.
What is the state’s universal recycling guide? What happens when you put the wrong thing in your recycling bin? What is this waste crisis in Connecticut? How can managing your waste save you money and how does it affect your taxes?
Heaton-Jones will give a one-hour presentation followed by a half-hour Q&A on those topics and more.
Wilton is a member town of HRRA, the regional, governmental, solid waste and recycling authority that serves 14 municipalities in Western Connecticut.
She has received state and national recognition and awards for her work in the solid waste industry. Registration required. To register and see more details, visit www.wiltonlibrary.org. For more information, contact asato@wiltonlibrary.org.
The Wilton Library is located at 137Old Ridgefield Road.
Himes announces grants for the arts
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, announced $125,000 in federal grants to support arts and culture in Southwest Connecticut.
The National Endowment for the Arts awarded the grants through their Grants for Arts Projects and Challenge America programs. These programs fund education, engagement and access to art.
“Southwest Connecticut is home to a vibrant arts scene that enriches our communities and strengthens our local economy,” said Himes, whose district includes Wilton. “This federal funding will expand access to music, dance and theater, bring artistic projects to life, and further cultivate our state’s strong creative tradition.”
Beth Ulman, executive director of the Greater Connecticut Youth Orchestras Inc., said, “We are grateful to the NEA for recognizing the value of GCTYO to young musicians and their families in Connecticut and for helping us support our quest for accessibility, equity, and belonging for all our students, regardless of background or circumstance.”
Thanks to the grant, “the National Endowment for the Arts is giving us the opportunity to first connect Connecticut students with disabilities with their peers in Kenya in an exchange of art and live videoconferencing – and then display the art in schools throughout the state on cARTie’s Museum Bus. Disabilities are not inabilities – and this program will fully bear this out for all participants and viewers,” said Alan Steckler, founder and president of Creative Connections.
The nine Fairfield County grant recipients include the following:
• ACT of Connecticut Inc. in Ridgefield — $10,000 to support a series of theater performances for underserved audiences.
• Creative Connections in Norwalk — $10,000 to support an international art exchange and mobile tour of artwork created by deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
• Greater Connecticut Youth Orchestras Inc. in Fairfield — $10,000 to support youth orchestra activities for underserved students.
• INTEMPO Organization Inc. in Stamford — $10,000 to support a multidisciplinary concert and a series of dance workshops.
• Mill River Collaborative in Stamford — $10,000 to support an outdoor interactive dance performance
• Thrown Stone Theatre Company in Ridgefield — $10,000 to support a theater production by the company
• City of Stamford — $25,000 to support the installation of a mural at the Stamford Transportation Center
• Games for Change in Fairfield — $20,000 to support the Games for Change Festival and the XR for Change Summit
• Stamford Symphony Orchestra Inc. — $20,000 to support an artist residency by the Dali Quartet