Partnership helps cultivate community at Troy's Gay-Kimball Library

On the grounds of the Gay-Kimball Library, cardboard has replaced grass in preparation for new garden beds. Native flowers will soon attract bees and butterflies. Vegetables will eventually find their way into baskets and kitchens. But those involved with the newest pollinator garden project say the most important thing growing there may be something less tangible. "It's really about community, and I knew that from the very beginning," said Erin George, director of the Gay-Kimball Library. "I realized I could reach the community and touch people's lives in a bigger way through a library." Gay-Kimball Library received funding to establish both a pollinator garden and a community produce garden through Cheshire County Conservation District's Conservation Opportunity Fund, transforming part of its grounds into a space where conservation and community life intersect. The library is one of seven recipients selected this year. The fund, established as an annual grant program in 2020, helps stewards of smaller properties improve wildlife habitat while encouraging environmental education and community involvement. Grants of up to $1,500 are awarded to projects that demonstrate long-term stewardship, incorporate ecological principles and create opportunities for public education. For the conservation district, this year's library partnership reflects an intentional shift. "This year wanted to put a bigger emphasis on community projects, and so more so than the past," said Nina Branwen, community engagement and communications coordinator for the Cheshire County Conservation District. "This one was really, really awesome for us to pursue because it was bringing a community together. There was also a beautiful aspect of just exposing nature to people." Although the project centers on native plants and pollinator habitat, organizers say its impact extends well beyond ecology. Since receiving the grant, the library worked alongside Cheshire County Conservation District staff to determine the best locations for the gardens, prepare the site and coordinate volunteers. Local Girl Scouts committed to building hummingbird feeders and helping with planting, while members of the Troy Conservation Commission and other volunteers provided guidance and labor. The project has also inspired plans for educational programming, including a BioBlitz and activities connected to the library's summer reading theme, "Plant a Seed: Read." For George, one of the project's most rewarding outcomes has been watching it connect residents of different ages. "Watching a senior light up as a four-year-old explains to them how that little seed turned into something we're going to eat is fantastic," she said. "And then watching the senior talk about her favorite canned tomato soup recipe that her mother did. Just seeing the generations interact, I haven't seen that before." She paused before reflecting on what those moments revealed. "The way this project is pulling that out is just awesome," George said. "And I think people are realizing that a library doesn't have to just be about books. Not that that's a bad thing. That's great, and I understand that that's good. But it's also about community, and I think this town needed that." The project mirrors a broader evolution taking place at many public libraries, where programming increasingly extends beyond lending books to include workshops, outdoor education, cultural events and spaces where residents can gather around shared interests. At Gay-Kimball Library, that evolution has taken root in the soil itself. The community garden is intended to provide fresh produce for participants while giving residents an opportunity to learn about gardening together. The pollinator garden, meanwhile, will feature native flowering plants that support bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects whose populations have declined because of habitat loss and other environmental pressures. For the Cheshire County Conservation District, projects like these demonstrate how relatively small parcels of land can contribute to healthier ecosystems while also serving as educational spaces. According to the district, the Conservation Opportunity Fund seeks to strengthen wildlife habitat and encourage environmental stewardship across Cheshire County by supporting projects that residents can maintain and learn from over time. The library's project has also become a catalyst for volunteerism. George said residents have contributed in whatever ways they could, whether through gardening expertise, donating materials or simply offering their time. "The whole town, in different ways, has pitched in where they could, and I just think that is what community is," she said. "And to me, that's what it's all about." She admitted she didn't initially realize how much momentum the project would generate. "Who knew a little garden could have done this?" George said. "I didn't even, to be honest, really fully understand what a pollinator garden was. I knew, OK, we need something that people are going to get into." As the gardens continue to take shape over the coming months, organizers hope they become more than seasonal landscaping projects. Instead, they envision them as outdoor classrooms where children can learn how vegetables grow, where adults can share gardening knowledge, where pollinators find habitat, and where neighbors who might not otherwise meet find themselves working side by side. For Branwen, that combination of conservation and community is what made the project stand out. Rather than focusing solely on habitat restoration, she said, the library project creates opportunities for people to experience nature together — demonstrating how environmental stewardship can also strengthen the social fabric of a town. In that sense, the gardens represent the dual mission of the Conservation Opportunity Fund: improving wildlife habitat while creating lasting connections between people and the landscapes they share.