| Remembering the old
Nature Center |
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In the 1990s, Park
Supervisor Glenn Dochtermann turned an unused first-aid
and lifeguard building near the West Beach into a
meeting place for guided field trips, and he furnished
it with specimens of local wildlife.
The Friends of
Sherwood Island, shortly after their formation in 1995,
officially adopted that Nature Center as a special
project and voted to support it as an ongoing
commitment, purchasing tanks, showcases and a library
and later establishing a summer internship program. |
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Governor Rell
presented the Long Island Sound Fund grant in 2005.
L>R: DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy, DMV
Commissioner Ralph Carpenter, Governor Rell, and
Friends officers Carole Stoveken and Louis Pietig.
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Mark Rickert,
Western District Park Operations Supervisor, DEP
Parks Division in the Nature Center that he
conceived and designed. He managed the project
from start to finish. |
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The
new Nature Center
opened for summer 2009
The Center is located between the
East Beach and the salt marsh nature trail. Staff naturalists,
summer interns and volunteer docents
are offering
summer nature walks, bird watching, lectures, and learning activities for
kids.
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First visitors at the touch tank |
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The new Nature Center is the result of a successful public-private
partnership between the Connecticut Department of Environmental
Protection and
the Friends of Sherwood Island State Park.
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How it came to be |
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When the little Nature Center
was deemed structurally unsound in 2002 and slated for
demolition, the Friends vowed to devote all their
fundraising efforts to constructing a new one. Their
determination was shared by the DEP Parks Division
Western Region Supervisor Mark Rickert, who was
developing plans for a site overlooking the
East Beach.
The Friends launched a capital campaign to
contribute $150,000 toward the cost.
To the total construction cost of $340,000, the
Friends were able to contribute $144,000 and have funds
left over for equipment and supplies, and stipends for
the summer interns. The DEP Parks Division contributed $196,000.
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Fund raising |
The new Nature
Center benefited greatly from grants
awarded to the Friends of Sherwood Island.
The
GE
Foundation (then the GE Fund) breathed life into the project with a
$50,000 grant in late 2002.
Other major grants came from individuals and organizations,
including:
Chris & Terri Bell; Dancing Tides Foundation/Mele;
Lauri & Michael Friedland;
Al & Hope Hageman; Newman's Own
Foundation; and
the
Betty R. & Ralph Sheffer Foundation.
Additional funds came - and will continue to come - from the
Friends' annual Shorefest lobster dinner and silent auction.
Support for displays was provided by the Long Island Sound
Study.
The
Connecticut DEP's
Long Island Sound Fund (supported by the sale of
Preserve the Sound license plates) granted $16,900 to the
Friends for educational displays, including a marine aquarium ,
a marsh tank and a touch tank with local species of marine life,
educational signs and brochures, and trail maps of the park.
The
LIS Futures Fund awarded $27,000 to the CT-DEP State
Parks Division to design, develop and install educational
exhibits and materials for the new Nature Center.
The Futures Fund is a partnership between EPA Long Island Sound
Study and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
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Hands-on
help |
During construction,
the Parks Division had the help of corporate and
civic organizations who donated money or goods, and from individuals who generously volunteered their time or
services.
Among them:
Architect Peter Wormser contributed his
expertise in refining elements of the building’s design and
appearance. In 2007, Builder’s Beyond
Borders volunteered a sizable work party for a weekend
carpentry blitz at which time all the exterior walls were framed
and sheathed to make the building weather-tight. Tom Wormser of
Wormser Development Group in Westport donated his own time and
that of his experienced carpenters to coordinate and oversee the
B3 work crew.
Ring's End Lumber and Andersen Windows. |
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Going forward |
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The Friends will continue to raise funds for ongoing support of
the Nature Center.
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