Grants - A series of helpful grants made a number of important projects possible. Fairfield County Community Foundation grant of $10,000 in 2007 helped to fund the position of NRWA's part-time Executive Director. The Jeniam Foundation in 2007 gave a $5,000 grant to enable the Executive Director to add more hours each week for fundraising efforts. Connecticut DEP awarded a grant that made the printing and distribution of the brochure "How to Manage and Maintain Your Property" possible to Norwalk and Wilton residents this past June. Recently The Sounds Conservancy gave a grant of $250 to help NRWA revise its website - a summer project we hope to complete by September 2008. Ongoing efforts during the past six months included work on the following projects: Funding for additional testing by Harbor Watch/River Watch to identify upstream sources of pollution in Ridgefield; Posting of the EPA 319 Grant data for water testing along the Norwalk River by Harbor Watch/River Watch at the site; More habitat restoration by removing invasive plants at the River Study Site and at Aldrich Park in Ridgefield; Poison Ivy control at the Geogetown Park site, deed wording, and plans for future work; Expansion of the River Ranger program; Organization of the spring show "Invasive Botanicals: Beauty and Beast," original art work by members of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators; Continued negotiations to expand and improve the Norwalk River Valley Trail System; and Programs and hikes to educate the public about the watershed, its features, problems, and opportunies for action. A Georgetown Eco-History Tour this past fall was led by Harry and Brent Colley attracting a huge crowd and included a stop at the Gilbert and Bennett office for coffee- courtesy of Stephen Soler of Georgetown Land Development, Co., LLC, the firm that is seeking to develop the property. A History of Gilbert and Bennett slide show was also presented by Brent Colley at the Cannondale Grange at our annual meeting in April. Heavily subscribed hikes prove that there is a great interest in the expanding trail system and that the trails are an effective way to get people's attention and to educate them about the proper ways to take care of the watershed and about the necessity for each person to do his or her part. In addition to these ongoing outdoor projects NRWA signed on as an intervener on the Northeast Utilities proposal to expand its electical lines from Bethel to Norwalk in order to elicit more enviormentally sound plans and technology to provide additional service. The Sitting Council is still considering comments before making a decision on quantity, structures, and routes. NRWA has also given another grant to Harbor Watch/River Watch to expand its water-testing sites in Ridgefield farther upstream on Cooper Brook and on the Norwalk River near the Route 7 sewage treatment plant to monitor water quality and to pinpoint sources of sporadic pollution. Anyone interested in getting involved in NRWA can contact the Norwalk River Watershed Association at P.O. Box 197, Georgetown, CT 06829; call 203-846-8210 or email info@norwalkriver.org.