Student mural to be unveiled at Stratford wildlife refuge

STRATFORD — Local middle students have made a lasting contribution to the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, and it’s a work of art.

Literally.

The seventh- and eighth-graders at Flood and Wooster middle schools spent last year creating an 8-by-20-foot mural that will soon greet visitors at the refuge’s Great Meadows Unit.

“The kids worked really hard on this,” Joe Koripsky, Stratford resident and project coordinator, said.

The mural depicts a blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds over a green marsh teeming with birds based on a study by Norwalk artist Sean Murtha.

Koripsky credited Geralyn Vigliotti, a science teacher at Flood, and Wooster art teachers Samantha Williams and Dan Romaniello with leading the project.

“It’s really commendable,” Koripsky said. “The people of Stratford should be proud.”

The mural will adorn a storage trailer in the parking lot of the refuge’s Great Meadows Unit at 600 Long Beach Blvd.

The painting will be unveiled at the end of a ceremony Saturday scheduled for 1 p.m.

State Rep. Joe Gresko, D-Stratford, will begin the event by detailing new signs being installed on Interstate 95 to guide visitors to the 421-acre Great Meadows Unit, which offers hiking trails and observation blinds for visitors.

Refuge Manager Rick Potvin will also reveal details of the recently announced $1,000,000 restoration project to enhance visitor areas, water quality and wildlife habitats.

The public is welcome to attend and complimentary beverages and snack will be served. In case of rain it will be held Audubon Connecticut at Stratford point, 1207 Prospect Drive.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Student-mural-to-be-unveiled-at-Stratford-14556392.php