Around Town

‘A Magnificent Piece of our Town’: New Nature Center Executive Director Looks to Past, Future

By |

The New Canaan Nature Center—a place where generations of local families have learned about animals, attended preschool, hiked trails and studied nature—began in 1960 for purposes of “an arboretum, bird sanctuary, nature center, horticulture, and for passive recreation,” according to a deed given to the town by Susan D. Bliss, the property’s prior owner. The deed also specified that the Nature Center would serve as “a museum site,”  newly appointed Executive Director Bill Flynn told a group of visitors this week. For Flynn, the first permanent director at the Oenoke Ridge Road facility in more than one year, part of what the Nature Center strives to do is “prove that we’re worthy of [Bliss’s] generosity.”

“This is a gift” and a “magnificent piece of our town,” Flynn said during a meet-and-greet and tour on Tuesday morning that included a talk at the Visitor’s Center and hike around the campus. A staff member at the Nature Center for seven years, Flynn is in a unique position to both appreciate the organization’s rich history while also eyeing immediate and future needs, including for its several buildings. Priorities now for Flynn include maintaining and building on a strong relationship with the town, he said, as well restoring certain buildings on campus.

Around Town

Board President: New Leadership at New Canaan Nature Center

By |

The New Canaan Nature Center has named a member of its Board of Trustees as interim executive director, officials say. Town resident Mary Emerson is a “seasoned management and fundraising professional” has stepped in voluntarily to help steer the Oenoke Ridge Road nonprofit organization as it pursues a new strategic plan, Board President Linda Andros told NewCanaanite.com. “She is experienced in high-quality cultural and educational institutions,” Andros said. A Harvard graduate who completed doctorate-level course studies in art history from New York University, Emerson went on to hold positions at the Met and Frick in New York City, and the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, according to her resumé. More recently, she has served as executive director of the American School of Classical Studies in Princeton, N.J., and part-time as executive director of a nonprofit organization that raises funds for a college in Winchester, England.