Around Town

Town Preps Parking Area as Bristow Nears 100-Year Celebration

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The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. Did you know New Canaan has the third oldest bird sanctuary in the United States? 

This year that bird sanctuary turns 100 years old. 

The centennial anniversary celebration of Bristow Bird Sanctuary is slated for this coming September, marked by five years of significant restorations to the park. 

Starting five years ago, in collaboration with the Friends of Bristow volunteers, donors, and the Town of New Canaan, improvements have been made to the park with a focus on public accessibility. Restorations include updated senior and stroller accessibility, improved bird habitats, and native plantings. 

“The restoration project began back in 2019 when the park responsibility for the Bristow Park was transferred to the Conservation Commission,” Former Conservation Chair Chris Schipper said. “We felt like if there was going to be a centennial, the park should be upgraded or restored to be in great shape so that it set the tone for the next 100 years.”

Director of Public Works Tiger Mann said that the town now is “in the process of putting in a pull off parking area and a sidewalk that leads from Bristow to Park Street so that the park is now connected to our sidewalk network.”

Currently, the park’s restoration is in its final stages. 

Schipper said: “The clear goal of the restoration program was to restore and improve the bird habitat and visibility within the park, but also to improve the accessibility of the park – accessible meaning all the way to senior and more stroller friendly access.”

A comprehensive list of improvements are as follows:

Deer fence surrounding the preserve repaired and raised
The Pond and its surroundings have been dredged and armored
Streams have been lined with boulders to limit erosion
Pathways have been graded and surfaced with fine stone; walking trails have been cleared
Historic Perambulation wall rebuilt
Boardwalks have been raised across wetlands
Bridges rebuilt across streams
Granite steps laid
Benches placed
Native plantings that sustain local and migratory bird populations installed
Fernery and pollinator gardens planted
Two overlook viewing areas opened up
A center crossing pavilion built suitable for education sessions
A birdhouse education trail with information signage and photos created
A wetlands bird blind installer
A nature oriented lending library placed
20 native trees planted and tree identification markers place
Francis of Assisi statue being replace
Pollinator Pathway Garden installed by wildflower meadow, dedicated to the late resident, naturalist and volunteer Cam Hutchins
New White Oak planted to replace the fallen Mighty Bristow Oak
A four-car pull-off by the Old Stamford Road entrance under construction
Senior and stroller friendly flexipave accessway from Mead Park is being laid in July
The sidewalk will be extended from Park Street by September

Officials said they are hopeful that the restoration will be completed by Sept. 8, the day of the centennial celebration.

Around Town

‘Everyone’s Movie Theater’: New Canaan Playhouse Reopens to High Praise 

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The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. Exactly halfway down Elm Street a historic landmark has been given new life. 

The New Canaan Playhouse Theater’s doors finally reopened following a four-plus-year closure. “We are thrilled that after two years and a lot of hard work and commitment from the taxpayers and private investors, New Canaan now has a beautiful, state-of-the-art theater right at the 50 yard line,” New Canaan Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Laura Budd said. Through the front doors, the theater boasts an impressive lobby where a balance of history and modern design coexist harmoniously. Upon entrance, individuals can find to their left a beautiful new bar and on the right, a concession stand from which wafts the redolent aroma of freshly popped popcorn. 

“When I attended the opening event last week, everyone was blown away at what the team had done to take this beautiful 100-year-old building and turn it into a modern functioning building,” Budd said.

Around Town

‘They’ll Chew Down Everything’: The Goats Are Back at the New Canaan Nature Center

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The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. Invasive plant species here in New Canaan have met their match … goats! For the second straight summer, the New Canaan Nature Center has introduced goats to help combat invasive plant species in a chemical-free manner. The goats are sourced from a company out of Rhinebeck, N.Y., according to the executive director of the New Canaan Nature Center, Bill Flynn. 

“[The company] does this all over the Northeast,” he said. “They rent [the goats] out who do their work, and then they go back.”

The goats are used primarily to remove an invasive plant called Japanese Knotweed.

Jeanne McDonagh

‘The Art of Drawing’: New Exhibition at New Canaan Library

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The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. Beyond the pristine sliding glass doors, boundless shelves of books and sunlit cafe, the New Canaan Library offers more: community creativity. 

This spring, the library hosted a seven-week drawing workshop for adults called “Art of Drawing.” The workshop was led by retired New Canaan High School art teacher Jeanne McDonagh, an educator here for 32 years. Held on the third floor of the library in the Tate Room, participants received a comprehensive foundation in drawing catered to both beginners and those who wished to enhance their drawing skills further. They learned the vocabulary of drawing and how to work with composition, proportion, perspective, line, gesture, value, and texture. 

Students also learned how to use and explore these concepts to create original works of art. “I would base each week on a skill that would build to the next skill,” McDonagh said.

Dionna Carlson

Residents May Become Responsible for Clearing Their Sidewalks of Snow and Ice

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The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. New Canaan’s highest elected official wants the town to consider requiring residents to clear snow and ice from sidewalks abutting their homes. At present, the town is required to remove snow and ice from sidewalks outside the downtown area, mandated by ordinance. Despite this, the town is only able to tend to nine of the 20 mandated miles due to staffing and attempts to contain costs within an inflationary budget, officials say. According to First Selectman Dionna Carlson, maintaining all 20 miles would cost something close to another $2 million a year.