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WILTON — United Way of the Tri-Valley Area recently provided a $1,000 special project grant to Friends of Wilson Lake that will help the group buy a water quality buoy/device to monitor the temperature and dissolved oxygen level in Wilson Lake.
Water quality in the lkae has been declining over the past 10 years and in 2016 the lake was added to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s Threatened Lakes Watch List.
The health of Wilson Lake is critically important to the region, providing recreational opportunities to a diverse population, the group says. The lake is an economic driver and is the back-up water supply for Wilton and Jay. It also hosts an active summer meals program held on its shores at Kineowatha Park.
FOWL is working collaboratively with University of Maine Farmington faculty and students to install, maintain and collect data from the monitoring device. The equipment was launched yesterday and will remain in year-round.
United Way also recently provided $2,500 in funding to Life Enrichment Advancing People to make its Stone Soup Gardens and Woods more accessible to those with limited mobility. Specifically, an additional 225 feet of hard packed surface will be added to the pick your own apple lane and the blueberry patch, culminating at a landing circle where a wheelchair accessible picnic table will be sited. Stone Soup Gardens and Woods is located just off Route 2, across from the Farmington Motel, and is open to the public, featuring a network of walking trails, animal habitats, fit stations, forests and orchards.
Special projects funding is designed to address emergent human service needs in Franklin County. Preference is given to programs and projects that are collaborative and innovative in nature. United Way welcomes special project requests. Please visit www.uwtva.org/what-we-do/funding/special-projects to apply, or contact Lisa Laflin, executive director at 207-778-5048 or director@uwtva.org.
