Friends of 

Mianus River Park

An All Volunteer Organization whose Goal is  

to Sustain and Protect the Mianus River Park 

Latest News


Earth Day:  Saturday, April 27th


Press Release:


The Town of Greenwich Parks and Recreation Foundation will hold its Second Earth Day Beatification of Mianus River Park on Saturday, April 27, from 9 to 12 p.m. Volunteers should plan on meeting at the Cognewaugh Street entrance of the park, and due to limited parking, they are encouraged to carpool.


Activities from the morning will include planting trees along the trail's entrance, native plantings in the circle of the parking lot, removal of invasive, winged euonymus species as needed, lining the trails with stray logs/larger branches, removal of debris from the first drainage area, planting trees along the trails, and debris pick-up as needed.


The Town of Greenwich Parks Department will provide shovels, hand shears, rakes, hand saws, and garbage bags. Volunteers are asked to bring their tools if they have them.


"We invite the community to come and give back to the Town Parks that have given us so much," said Parks and Recreation Director Joe Siciliano. "If you haven't been to Mianus River Park in a while, the Earth Day Clean-Up and Beautification is an excellent opportunity to discover it again."


The Mianus River Park consists of 109.7 acres in the Mianus/upper Cos Cob neighborhood of Greenwich and 110.3 acres in adjacent Stamford. The Friends of Mianus River Park, the Junior League of Greenwich, the Stamford Norwalk Junior League, and Greenwich Magazine/Moffly Media are all supporting the effort to beautify this park that straddles both Greenwich and Stamford.


The Town of Greenwich Parks & Recreation Foundation strives to make Greenwich's great community even better. The Foundation provides resources for Town park beautification and recreational experiences by enhancing existing programs, services, and facilities.


To RSVP or for any questions, please contact Town of Greenwich Parks and Recreation Foundation Co-Chair Sue Bodson at  sembodson@gmail.com

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Mianus River Park Ramble:  Sunday, June 2nd


Celebrate Trails Day on Sunday, June 2nd with Friends of Mianus River Park and Greenwich Land Trust with a two-hour guided hike around Mianus River Park. We will meet at 9:30 a.m. at the bridge on Merriebrook Lane (Stamford entrance). Please bring a water bottle and wear appropriate footwear.


For more details:  Mianus River Park Ramble


Event Leaders:

Craig Kennedy / craigkennedy@hotmail.com

Chris Aldrich / chris@gltrust.org

Pete Sofman / psofman@gmail.com


Note: Event is cancelled in the event of rain.

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Invasive Plants


Friends of Mianus River have joined forces with UCONN Master Gardeners and park volunteers to address invasive plants that have overtaken the Stamford parking areas. Thanks to donations from park lovers and a MicroGrant from the City of Stamford, we are working to replace the invasive areas with native plantings.  These areas were rife with Mugwort (Artemisia Vulgaris), which can grow from two to five feet tall.  To learn more:  

  

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Monthly Hikes/Plikes

Join Friends for our monthly hikes.  Our hikes are on the first Monday of every month.  We call these hikes Plikes as we borrow the term from the Swedes who combine jogging and plocka upp (to pick up) to obtain plogging. Thus Hiking plus plocka upp, gets us Pliking.

Our Plikes run about 2 hours and are to the less used areas of the park. This allows us to explore, check on the status of less used trails, and tidy up.  

We meet at 9:00 am at the bridge on Merribrooke Lane in Stamford.   Please bring gloves and a small trash bag. We hope that you can join us.

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Eagles on the River


Bald eagles continue to do well on the Mianus River.  Keep an eye out for their epic nests. 


The link below has more information and a great chart about their breeding timeline. 


https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Wildlife/Learn-About-Wildlife/Bald-Eagles-in-Connecticut?fbclid=IwAR2HTF-TShA_9lR-r4LNdzhiE20RWmMYPIvFW4f7Kr-Qen0bu9qyjBDKAOc


Scroll down the page to see recent photos of the eagles about a mile down the river from the park.

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Support the Park


Classy Groundcovers Affiliate Program


As an affiliate of Classy Groudcovers,  Friends earns a percentage of every purchase made using the link below.   The comprehensive website provides the necessary details to select the correct plants for your yard.  To assist new gardeners, they have also provided a Garden Guide written by Sarah Oliver.

Use the below link to access the Classy Groundcover website and ensure that Friend is properly credited: https://classygroundcovers.com/?affl=Mianus.    

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Don't fence me in (or is it out)?  

Anyone frequenting the park will notice trash plus wear and tear.   Besides being very unsightly, it becomes especially problematic near the riverbanks.  When trees and shrubs are destroyed,  their roots can no longer hold the dirt in place.  The resulting erosion impacts not only the quality of the water but also the habitat for the aquatic species making their home in the river.   The widening river becomes warmer as it becomes shallower.  This impacts trout and other native aquatic species as they thrive in cooler climates.

Fences have been placed along the river's edge to address erosion.  They serve not only to mitigate the damage created by park users but also to create an environment that allows flora and fauna to thrive.  The goal is to restore the areas to their original state so fences can be removed.  However, Mother Earth takes time and patience to work her magic.


Questions?

Contact  friendsofmianusriverpark@gmail.com for more information about the park