State providing critical habitats for pollinators

Press Release

June 19-25 is National Pollinator Week and the Connecticut Department of Transportation is highlighting ongoing efforts to help pollinators thrive.

The CTDOT Pollinator Program was implemented in 2017 and has grown to 123 conservation areas comprised of approximately 205 acres of state right of way.

The goal of the Pollinator Program is to provide critical habitats for pollinating insects, such as bees and monarch butterflies, through strategic plantings and vegetation management.

“Pollinators are important to our food supply and health of the environment, and we are proud to join the national effort to increase pollinator habitats on properties throughout Connecticut. We’re reclaiming these areas along the highways with wildflowers and vegetation to help protect pollinators that are at risk,” said Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto. “Each year we’re identifying additional conservation areas that we can add to this program as part of our broader goals to create a more sustainable environment. However, our rights of way cannot provide the pollinators with everything they need. I encourage the public to join our efforts to help pollinators flourish in Connecticut.”

CTDOT pollinator corridors are marked with conservation area signage and consist of warm season grasses, native wildflowers and low-growing vegetation. They bloom in late June and continue through the summer months.

Some examples of plants found in conservation areas include milkweed, goldenrod, joe pye weed and aster.

Varying species with staggered bloom time promotes biodiversity, healthy habitats, and increases the survival rate of pollinators in the area.

These corridors along the highways provide an extensive network for pollinators. Motorists traveling throughout Connecticut can see these corridors near highway ramps, medians, and along roadside shoulders.

While the blooms are beautiful to see, motorists are asked not to stop on the highway to take photos or videos of the conservation areas.

For more information about National Pollinator Week and the importance of pollinators, visit pollinator.org.

Giving Garden

Help is welcomed and appreciated at the MiddlefieldDurham Giving Garden, located behind the Middlefield Community Center. For further information, contact Betsy St. John at 860-807-5242 or Jen Huddleston at 860-716-0464.

Cat Tales

Join a wonderful and dedicated group of people a few hours a week to help care for homeless cats at Cat Tales’ main shelter. The volunteer application can be found at cattalesct.org. For more information, email: info@cattalesct.org.

Volunteer

The Middlefield Volunteer Fire Company seeks volunteers age 18-plus. No experience is required; the department provides the necessary training.

In Brief

To learn more, visit middlefieldfirect.org, email info@ middlefieldfirect.org or stop by the firehouse Mondays before 7 p.m.

The department also has an Explorer program for youth ages 14 to 18.

Gift of sight

The Durham Lions Club’s recently-refurbished drop box is ready for your eyeglass donations at the Durham Pharmacy.

Lions have recognized the urgent need for corrective lenses and collect usable glasses in their communities to support the Lions Recycle For Sight Program.

Food bank

The Middlefield Food Bank is in need of the following: peanut butter, jelly, jam, sandwich/freezer bags, coffee, tea, crackers, snacks, laundry detergent, dish soap, cleaning supplies, toothpaste, tooth brushes, pasta, pasta sauce, tuna, and grocery store gift cards.

Wreath laying

Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

The group’s mission Remember, Honor, Teach is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as at thousands of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.

For more information on how to volunteer locally or sponsor a wreath, visit wreathsacrossamerica.org.

Obituaries

Joan Martin Quick

SANFORD, NC - Joan Martin Quick, 87, entered the gates of Heaven peacefully at her home in Sanford, NC, on June 7th following an 18-month battle with brain cancer. She was a long-time resident of Durham, Connecticut, but lived the last 20 years in North Carolina, where she and her husband shared the early years of their marriage in Fort Bragg and Chapel Hill.

Joan was born March 19, 1936, in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of William and Doris Martin. While her parents settled in Durham, Joan spent her high school years in preparatory school graduating from Mary Burnham School in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1954. She met Russ in the winter of 1953 and eloped to Valhalla, New York, on January 18, 1955, after a whirlwind court ship that lasted 68 special years filled with family, lifelong friends, and a myriad of good times.

Settling in Durham following six years in North Carolina, Joan and Russ established a real estate business where she was broker in charge for 30 years. Active throughout her life she was an enthusiastic Republican, helped as an assistant in the Durham Town Clerk office, and was an EMT for many years.

During her years in the Carolina Trace community, she actively contributed to her Sedgemoor POA as the architecture chairperson and for many years she was a special contributor

Services

to the Carolina Trace Association.

A statuesque beauty Joan graced everything she touched with a warm and welcoming style. A nature lover of many talents, she was a gourmet cook who enjoyed entertaining and had a gifted green thumb and a flair for flower arranging. In many ways, she was a very special and tender lady.

Joan is survived by her husband, Russ, daughters Beth Armitage (James) of Chester, CT, Kim Garvis (Frank)of Durham, CT, sons Donald Quick (Jeanne) of Cromwell, CT, and David Quick (Maria) of Sanford, NC. She is also survived by her brother Bill Martin (Lorrie) of Durham, CT, six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and a nephew.

Joan was predeceased by her parents and brother Glenn. Per her wish, there will be no formal services but rather a celebration of her life in Connecticut in the coming months. In lieu of flowers please pay it forward and as she would have it, be kind to one another.

May God bless the Queen of the Quick family.