Branford Conservation and Environmental Commission

07/24/2026

It’s working! The plants are feeding the caterpillars! These pearly everlastings (Anaphalis margaritacea) look terrible, but that’s okay, because they are working as a larval host plant, feeding the caterpillars (larvae) of the American painted lady butterfly. If we want butterflies, we have to feed the caterpillars, and native plants provide their specific food requirements. Planting native plants is what it takes to ensure that our native butterflies can live here. –photo taken at Demonstration Garden at Foote Park

07/24/2026

Fantastic article! One of our commissioners was featured with the following quote...

Lauren Ruotolo of the Conservation and Environment Commission noted the group recently gave away 385 native plants to Branford residents. The commission helps manage several parcels throughout town by reducing invasive species and replacing them with native plants.

"Our goal is to highlight the importance of protecting our natural resources by planting natives, limiting invasive and non-native plants, and eliminating the use of pesticides/herbicides, which contaminate our soil and waterways," Ruotolo said. "These are just a few meaningful actions anyone can take today to help wildlife thrive."

Healthy communities start with us. Educate, advocate, and plant—small actions make a lasting impact on biodiversity: First Selectman Brooks

07/01/2026

In: pesticide free yards!
Out: using pesticide 🤢

06/28/2026

BLUE BIRD BOXES INSTALLED IN HONOR OF CHET BLOMQUIST

On June 14, 2026, The Branford Conservation and Environment Commission installed 2 blue bird boxes at the Early Learning Center in honor of Chet Blomquist who would have been 100 years old on this date.

Chet was a long-time Branford resident, an educator, naturalist, conservationist, and a person who gave so much to the town of Branford. He volunteered his time at Boy Scout camps, the Recreation Department, taught canoeing, started volleyball leagues, and horseshoe leagues.

Chet served on the Conservation and Environment Commission for many years. He developed the Branford Trail System – a 28-mile hiking trail around the perimeter of Branford. For more than 20 years he led many walks on the trail. Chet always carried his pruners with him to cut stray limbs to keep the trail open. He was instrumental in the development of the Shoreline Greenway Trail, which links towns from New Haven Harbor through East Haven, Branford, Guilford, and Madison.

Chet also installed blue bird boxes in different areas around town. Two more blue bird boxes will be installed at another area in town at a later date to keep his legacy ongoing.

06/26/2026

Tomorrow with Friends of the Farm River and Estuary at Foxon Pond in East Haven. Volunteer to help remove invasive Water Chestnut to help our waterways!

The Farm River watershed is infected with invasive water chestnut, an aquatic plant that forms dense mets across water systems. Help us remove water chestnut from Foxon Pond in East Haven on June 2…

06/26/2026

Applications are open for the Connecticut Master Woodland Manager (MWM) program, beginning in late August 2026!

This year-long program gives woodland owners and managers the knowledge and skills to make confident decisions for their land, supporting wildlife, promoting forest resilience, and helping steward your land for future generations. Applications are due July 15. Learn more and apply at ctwoodlands.org/MWM.

Questions? Email [email protected].

MWM is a program of Connecticut Forest & Park Association, in partnership with Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP), Connecticut Fish and Wildlife, Audubon Connecticut, UConn Extension, Connecticut Land Conservation Council, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, and Great Mountain Forest. Funding for this Program is provided by the U.S.D.A Forest Service through the Forest Stewardship Program, as administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Division of Forestry.

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06/26/2026

It is National Pollinator Week! This year to celebrate Pollinator Week, the National Pollinator Pathway is partnering with the Xerces Society to publicize their new Bring Back the Pollinators campaign.

While many of the pollinators we rely on are in decline, the good news is that it takes just four simple steps to support pollinators in any location, whether you
tend an urban patio or a suburban yard, work in a city park or on a farm.

To Help Pollinators, Follow These Four Steps

1. Grow Pollinator-Friendly Flowers. Growing the right flowers, shrubs, and trees with
overlapping bloom times will provide pollinators with pollen and nectar from spring
through fall.

2. Provide Nest Sites. It is important to support all pollinator life stages, including eggs
and larvae! For bees, leave patches of bare ground and brush piles, have plants and
shrubs with hollow or pithy stems, or install nesting blocks. For butterflies and moths,
plant their caterpillar host plants.

3. Avoid Pesticides. Pesticides, especially insecticides, are harmful to pollinators. There
are safer ways to manage issues!

4. Spread the Word. You can share information about pollinators on social media, talk with
your neighbors, or spread the word with a pollinator habitat sign or pesticide-free sign.

Together, we can transform our neighborhoods and create healthier landscapes that will benefit us as well as pollinators. Find everything you need to get started at http://bringbackthepollinators.org/. (Link also in our bio and Linktree.)

06/24/2026

This Friday! 6/26, 7pm at the Stony Creek Museum - see you there.

06/23/2026

You've seen the velvety red cones on the roadside shrub and wondered if it was the poison kind.

It isn't. That's staghorn sumac — native, named for the soft fuzz on its branches like a stag's antlers in velvet — and it's one of the most useful plants you can let stand. Poison sumac is a different plant entirely: it grows in wet swampy ground and hangs its berries in loose white droops. Staghorn holds its berries UP, in tight fuzzy red cones. Red and upright means safe.

Right now its cone-shaped flower clusters are feeding bees and butterflies. By fall those become the deep-red fruit cones — and here's the part that matters: they stay on the plant all winter. When the snow is down and everything else is bare, cardinals, grosbeaks, turkeys, and a long list of songbirds work those cones for food. It's also a host plant for the luna moth.

The berries are safe enough that people steep them into a tart, lemonade-like drink.

🌿 What to do this week
- If you've got a dry bank, roadside edge, or tough corner, let one stand — it thrives where fussier plants fail.
- Give it space; it spreads by root suckers into a handsome colony.
- Learn the tell so you can teach someone: red cones up = staghorn; white berries drooping in wet ground = poison sumac.

Red cones standing up means sumac, and the winter birds are counting on it. Give it room.

06/23/2026

Thank you to all who came out to see us at The Branford Festival ! It was such a fun event and we successfully gave away 378 native plants to Branford residents. 🌱
We hope all who received a plant will take good care of it as it establishes to provide food and habitat to our native pollinators.