Category Archives: Community

Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden Transforms Food Waste Into Luscious Compost

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The valuable compost being made by the Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden is shown above after its first turning as it starts heating up again.

OLD LYME — If you were a contestant on “Chopped” or “Iron Chef”, what would you do with a basket of coffee grounds, banana peels, egg shells and other kitchen castoffs?  

When the Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden (LOLFSG) threw this daunting challenge to its microbial chefs, they responded by cooking up a dish of sumptuous compost. 

In early March 2023, residents of the Library Lane neighborhood were invited to drop their household plant-based food waste at the home of Jim Ward, who is also the LOLFSG president.  Since that time, approximately a dozen families have donated more than 350 pounds of cooking scraps. All the delectable tidbits are transported to the LOLFSG for incorporation into the garden’s compost system, where they are mixed with leaf litter and feasted upon by bacteria. 

Unlike a TV cooking show, it will take months rather than minutes to create the final product.

Yet, a few short weeks from the inception of the project, the household organic matter has begun its transformation into luscious compost that will serve as a natural fertilizer for LOLFSG garden beds.

All produce from the garden, a fully volunteer organization, is donated to local food pantries.

In an effort to expand food waste recycling, the LOLFSG has installed a food waste collection bin onsite.  The container is located outside the main gate of the garden, which is situated behind the field house at Town Woods Park.  Residents are encouraged to drop any plant-based food waste such as any part of fruits and vegetables, coffee grounds and stale bread.  No meat or dairy products please!  

The collection bin is one of two repurposed trash containers donated by the Town of Old Lyme. 

The second is not yet being utilized for food waste recycling, but is available.  If you are interested in spearheading food waste collection in your neighborhood, please contact Jim Ward at jimdub@gmail.com.

The LOLFSG has installed a food waste collection bin onsite at Town Woods Park. Residents are encouraged to drop off any plant-based food waste in it.

‘The Bowerbird’ Presents $3.6K Check From 2022 Gift Wrap Program to Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden, Announces 2023 Recipient

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Chris Kitchings, owner of ‘The Bowerbird’ (right), is on hand as a Bowerbird staff member presents a check for $3,605.00 to Jim Ward (second from left), founder of the Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden, Inc. The funds donated by ‘The Bowerbird’ were raised through the store’s gift-wrap program.

OLD LYME — The Bowerbird of Old Lyme has selected the recipient of the proceeds from their 2023 gift-wrap program as A Place Called Hope. This organization is a non-profit, volunteer organization with the goal of teaching the public how to protect and respect wildlife, in particular raptors. The Bowerbird donation program runs from Nov. 1, 2022 through Oct. 31, 2023. 

The Bowerbird recently wrapped up their 2022 gift-wrapping campaign to raise funds Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden, Inc.(LOLFSG.)  A check in the amount of $3,605.00 representing 2,064 packages wrapped was presented to the LOLFSG’s founder Jim Ward. The Bowerbird charges a nominal fee for gift-wrapping purchases and donates 50 percent to local non-profit organizations. 

The Bowerbird pioneered ‘cause’ marketing when they created their gift wrap donation program in 1992. In the past 28 years, The Bowerbird has donated over $104,000 to 33 statewide and local non- profits proving that small businesses can make a difference.

For a complete listing of past recipients, visit www.thebowerbird.com.

The Bowerbird is located at 46 Halls Rd. in Old Lyme. For more information about The Bowerbird, visit the store’s website or call 860-434-3562.

Mix of Results, Emotions at Old Lyme’s Annual Town Budget Meeting

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OLD LYME — Old Lyme’s annual town budget meeting, which often draws only a handful of residents and is almost a formality, was an altogether different affair on Monday evening. More than 60 residents attended and emotions ran high at several points, in particular when the subject of purchasing guns for the Old Lyme Police Department was raised.

A summary of the results from the meeting is as follows:

A proposal that the Town accept title to a 1.88 acre parcel of land located at 21 and 39 Buttonball Rd. with a view to dedicating it as Open Space was approved.

An amendment to the proposed 2023-24 budget to remove $11,000 for the purchase of seven police patrol rifles was defeated 34 to 24.

The original, unamended town budget passed “by about the same margin” according to First Selectman Tim Griswold.

Two proposed Ordinances, which changed respectively the positions of Town Clerk and Tax Collector to ones appointed by the board of selectmen rather than being elected by voters, were defeated.

Editor’s Note: Visit this link to read a full report of the meeting by Elizabeth Regan of ‘The Day‘ titled, Some in Old Lyme oppose arming police with semiautomatic rifles, and published May 16 in ‘The Day.’

Photo Exhibit by Fred Verillo of Old Lyme on View at Saint Ann’s Through June 25, All Welcome

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This image of the Baldwin Amtrak Bridge by Fred Verillo is featured in an exhibition of his work on display in the Griswold Gallery at Saint Ann’s Church in Old Lyme. The show includes photos of both Old Lyme and New York City.

OLD LYME — The public is invited to view a photography exhibit by Fred Verillo titled, “Out of the City, Down to the Sea,” which is currently on display in the Griswold Gallery at Saint Ann’s through June 25.

The show is open to the public on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 12 to 4 p.m. and Thursdays from 4 to 7 p.m.

Verillo describes his artistry in this way: “I am a self-taught photographer who has had an interest in photography from an early age. I earned my first camera, a Kodak Brownie, by selling chances door to door to neighbors in my hometown of New Britain, Connecticut.

I fulfilled my childhood dream when I moved to New York City in 1972. It wasn’t long before my love for photography merged with my fascination and excitement for the City and I began documenting the urban landscape I found so compelling.

In my mind’s eye, I saw the City in a different light when I discovered a parallel universe of color, patterns and shapes, light and shadows that I wanted to capture in photographic images.  

Through my work, I hope to present a subject in a unique and creative way that one would not have seen otherwise.

By 2018, I was ready to make a change, and I moved to the small Connecticut shore town of Old Lyme, where there is an abundance of natural beauty and creative precedence. Though my New York chapter has ended, my love for photography has not. And so, here and now, a world apart from then and there, I continue to portray how I see the world through the lens of my camera.”

Halls Rd. Improvements Committee Issues Update to Community, Announces Plan to Reapply to Old Lyme Zoning for Overlay District Approval

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Editor’s Note: We thank Halls Road Improvements Committee (HRIC) Chair Edie Twining for sharing the following ‘Spring 2023 Update to the Community’ from the HRIC with us. Since it is such an important topic to the residents of Old Lyme, we are pleased to publish it in its entirety

OLD LYME — On March 27 the Old Lyme Zoning Commission voted 3-2 in favor of creating the Halls Road Overlay District (HROD).

Because the Planning Commission had previously given the HROD a ‘negative referral,’ it required a 4-1 vote to pass, and the measure failed.

The HROD is a significant piece of zoning regulation. It takes significant effort to understand the details. Many of the objections raised were covered by parts of the HROD proposal that apparently were not noticed or were misunderstood.

With the support of the [Old Lyme] Board of Selectmen and the heads of the commissions, we plan to reapply, and to do a better job of explaining the proposal in detail, and answering the objections raised. 

The challenges that prompted the effort to make changes along Halls Road still face us.

We need to acknowledge the changing business climate and support our retail businesses in the new environment of the coming decades. The people of Old Lyme want a safer, more attractive, walkable, bike-able, mixed-use town center where they can live, work, and shop.

Smaller-scale housing remains in short supply, and Halls Road is one place where it could be built without using up the remaining open space.

Old Lyme is planning major investments in public improvements, but the Halls Road area also needs to be allowed the option to change for the better.

Restricting Halls Road to “commercial only” now tends to favor highway services over all other uses—a thing that no one wants. Guiding our future is an important matter for Old Lyme. The HROD creates the option for a better future. 

In the area of improvements to public infrastructure, the town has hired A. I. Engineers (AIE) to proceed with design development of a new pedestrian/cyclist bridge and trails safely connecting our main commercial district on Halls Road with our Arts District and historic town center on Lyme Street. The bulk of the funding for this project is from the ARPA grant awarded last June.

In February of this year, we also applied for a small grant under the CT Recreational Trails Program to support the bridge and trails. The Halls Road Improvement Committee and the Town of Old Lyme will work on required easements and rights-of-way.

The work of AIE on the project will include an economic analysis, site survey and assessment, and geo-tech investigation leading to preliminary phased designs. AIE will produce three options (with cost estimates) for creating the bridge and trails. AIE’s work will be available for public review, and a final design selected. 

Once a final design is approved, AIE will create full construction documents (CDs) for the bridge and trails, and detail the project’s permitting requirements. The CDs will also be used to seek grants to cover the construction costs of the project. AIE will assist in seeking grants, and manage the bidding to move the project to the construction phase. 

Last year the BSC Group helped Old Lyme apply for a grant under the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CT-DOT)’s Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program (LOTCIP). The grant could cover a substantial part of the construction costs for the main improvements planned for sidewalks, lighting, landscaping, etc. along Halls Road. (The bridge and trails are a separate matter from CT-DOT’s point of view.)

Our LOTCIP application is also the first formal review of our plans by CT-DOT, and we must wait for their approval to proceed on this part of the plan. The LOTCIP program has many applicants and the waiting list for review is long. This is Old Lyme’s first request under LOTCIP, and we hope to see some action on our application in 2024. 

We appreciate your interest in the future of Halls Road and Old Lyme. Contact us at: hallsroadcommittee@oldlyme-ct.gov