WILTON – The Foothills Land Conservancy sponsored its annual cleanup day on May 2 and a shrub planting on May 8.

Participants raked rocks out of grass, filled in ruts in the pavement and helped with roadside trash pickup. This year, for the first time, the group covered the entire Weld Road frontage from Fenderson Hill to the cemetery and both sides of the Pond Road from the bridge to the western boundary. They gathered a full pickup truck load of trash, five car tires and one large truck tire.

Participants included Bud Wentworth, Pam Prodan, Judy Schmitt, Pete Schmitt, Cynthia Harkelroad, Robert SanGiovanni, Iris and Lilly SanGiovanni and Sierra Edwards.

During the shrub planting, participants planted 50 red osier dogwoods and 10 shadblow (juneberry) serviceberries. The dogwood will grow 7 to 10 feet tall and will be colorful all year. They grow rapidly to a multi-stem shrub and are ideal for holding soil on steep banks.

The serviceberries grow 25 to 30 feet and are a native tree that blooms in early spring. Berry-like fruits attract birds and are purplish black.

Some of these were planted next to the footpath bridge nearest the lake in order to help the gap in the stream buffer close in up to the bridge, while others were planted near new pine seedlings and some in Field 3 next to Wilson Stream where the water goes over the bank during high water.

Participants in the planting were Pete Schmitt, Ben Welch, Rie Welch and their sons Kris, Frank and Ethan.