OUR TOWN IS APPLYING FOR A CONNECTICUT RECREATIONAL TRAILS PROGRAM GRANT!

The Invasive Species Working Group will be meeting on Wednesday November 19th at 3:00PM, at the Scotland Public Library, to discuss developing a grant application to the state.  All are invited to attend.  We’d love for you to contribute your ideas!

The Connecticut DEEP has made grant money available for towns to design, develop and maintain recreational trails.  The grant money can also be used for equipment, amenities and educational outreach, as well as future maintenance. Our town has decided to focus on the boardwalk and trail through the wooded area between the Scotland Public Library and the firehouse and community room, and to connect the trail to the Scotland Elementary School property.  We held an event several months ago where some of us volunteered to begin clearing an area along the path that had become overgrown with invasive plants.  That event drew attention to the potential that area has for improvement and the town's board of selectmen agreed to move forward with the project if we get the grant.  The grant application is complicated, but we have experienced grant writers working on the project. 

State grants help equalize opportunities and amenities for small towns like ours that don’t have the resources of larger, wealthier towns like the New York suburbs and shoreline communities, so it’s important that we take advantage of these opportunities. The town of Scotland could never pay for a project like this on its own.  This is a matching grant, which means we need to contribute 20% of the cost, but don’t worry, this will not have any effect on your property taxes!  We can use volunteer hours toward the 20% match at a rate of $34.79 per hour per volunteer.  We can also use any hours on the project spent by the department of public works at their pay scale.  Any monetary donations, should we be that fortunate, would of course also count.

The trail has the potential to provide an educational opportunity for our children in the Scotland Elementary School, and Parish Hill too for that matter.   For example, perhaps we might provide the elementary school with raised beds and covers making small greenhouse structures so the students can grow some native species to plant along the trail.  We plan to increase public awareness about invasive plants and native plants as well among all ages.  Also in our plans is the repair of sections of the boardwalk, which has the engraved names of present and past Scotland residents.  

The grant money can provide for continued maintenance so the boardwalk will not fall into disrepair again and we can continue to keep out the invasive species.  The grant can pay for the cost to hire a consultant to help us plan and design the path and plantings.  We can add benches along the trail as well as signage pointing out various native plants.  With the grant money, we plan to hire a company that is licensed and has the ability to really tackle the invasive species that have taken over in areas along the trail.  Come to the November 19th meeting and bring your ideas!