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.

News

Who Knew: A Beginner’s Guide to Winged New Canaan

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‘Who Knew?’ is sponsored by Walter Stewart’s Market. When facing the waning years of your (ahem) forties, you have two choices. You can learn all the Gen Z slang and TikTok dances to cling, Gollum-like, to your waning youth, or you can slide into the sensible, low-heeled comforts of the retiree lifestyle a couple of decades early and start caring about things like warblers, relaxed-fit pants, and the lighthouses of the Eastern Seaboard. Twenty-two-year-old you might not recognize 47-year-old you, and there’s no doubt she’d judge your dorky fleece vest and Investment Binoculars™, but there’s much to be said for shifting yourself into a less chaotic gear and finding moments of actual presence in the natural world. Life begins to look more like a Mary Oliver poem than a Bret Easton Ellis novel, and that’s a-ok with me.

Around Town

Residents Dedicate New Pavilion in Bristow Park

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The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Carriage Barn Arts Center. Residents and open space advocates gathered Thursday afternoon at one of New Canaan’s prized public open spaces to dedicate a new pavilion. 

About 20 people attended a ceremony in Bristow Park that featured live music and food. “It’s the third-oldest bird sanctuary in the country,” said Chris Schipper, chair of the Conservation Commission. “The fact that New Canaan, even 100 years ago, was thinking of conservation—this is an example of it. They set aside 17 acres, almost in the middle of town for birds and for wildlife, and for beautiful woods.”

The pavilion is the newest addition to Bristow, which is undergoing a major restoration ahead of its 100th anniversary in 2024.

Bristow Bird Sanctuary

Officials Push for Improved Walkway from Mead Park to Bristow Bird Sanctuary

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Town officials are pushing for improvements to a walking trail for one pedestrian entrance to an increasingly popular bird sanctuary in New Canaan. 

As it is the heavy pebble walkway leading from the parking lot at Mead Park’s little league baseball fields to the Bristow Bird Sanctuary is “not easy to push a stroller across” and “difficult for older people to walk across,” according to Conservation Commission Chair Chris Schipper. “If this is going to be part of our greenlink that will connect Waveny to Mead and Irwin and the Nature Center and that whole link, that pieces needs to be improved as will other pieces, but I would love to see that improved,” Schipper told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission during their July 13 meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. “It’s always been a back way into the park, but it’s never been very attractive from a park design standpoint. And I think working on that trail at some point would be a big plus.”

The comments came during a general update on Bristow from Schipper, who has spearheaded efforts in recent years to restore what had been a largely forgotten bird sanctuary and wildwood preservation ahead of its centennial in 2024. Parks & Recreation Director John Howe said he agreed with Schipper’s assessment.

Board of Selectmen

Town Approves $65,000 Contract for More Improvements at Bristow [CORRECTED]   

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Town officials this week approved an approximately $65,000 contract with a New Canaan-based company to continue making improvements to a public bird sanctuary restored in recent years. The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voted 3-0 in favor of the $$64,679.04 contract with Peter Lanni Inc. for improvemtenis at Bristow Bird Sanctuary ahead of its planned centennial. The work will include “additional trail installation and reconstruction, the installation of the hilltop destination and overlook, various fencing requirements and some related landscaping improvements,” Public Works Director Tiger Mann told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

The work also will include putting in footings for a future pavilion that should arrive in February, Mann said. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted in favor of the contract. 

Bristow is located between Mead Park and Route 106, with walkable entrances through the park as well as a pull-off by the main entrance on 106 (west of the intersection of Park and Bank Streets). The selectmen asked whether the funds for the work are in the fiscal year 2023 budget (yes).