Start your day in Wilton with GOOD To Go, GMW‘s roundup of quick stories, local announcements, upcoming events and other things worth knowing that make your Wilton day better. Have a news tip, item or something Wilton should know? Fill out this form to tell GMW.
GOOD To Watch/Attend: Upcoming Town Board/Commission Meetings and Events
Editor’s note: GOOD Morning Wilton links to agendas when they are posted to the Town’s website. Otherwise, agenda links are directed to a Board or Commission’s “Minutes & Agendas” page online.
Monday, Sept. 28: Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting at 7 p.m. via Zoom only [agenda] [Zoom link]
Thursday, Oct. 1: Architecture Review Board/Village District Design Advisory Committee Meeting at 5 p.m. via Zoom only
GOOD To Pumpkin with a Purpose: Kiwanis Pumpkin Sale to Benefit Trackside Teen Center on Columbus Day Weekend
The Wilton Kiwanis Club has selected Trackside Teen Center as the beneficiary of its Great Pumpkin Sale over Columbus Day weekend, Saturday, Oct. 10-Monday, Oct. 12. Families can shop for pumpkins, mums and other fall decorations on the lawn of the Wilton Historical Society (224 Danbury Rd.).
The annual sale has supported a wide range of local charities, youth programs, and community initiatives since 2015. In recent years alone, the club has contributed more than $120,000 to organizations serving the Wilton community.
Shopping hours now through Halloween are Monday-Friday, 2:30-5:30 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays (as well as on Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 12) from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
“Kiwanis has been consistently investing in our community for generations, and we are so grateful to be part of that tradition,” Trackside Executive Director Lori Fields said. “Trackside provides teens with a welcoming place to spend time with peers and caring adults outside school and home. Every pumpkin purchased is another way our community helps us say yes to our local teens.”
GOOD To Commend: 31 WHS Students Named National Merit Commended Students
Wilton High School recognized a record-breaking 31 students who were named Commended Students in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended students placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2027 competition by taking the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success.
WHS seniors named as commended students this year were Allen Baumel, Enzo Calo, Harper Crawford, Sanaka Dash, Giacomo De Paola, John Frisbee, Elaine Geng, Zachary Helgesen, Natalia Henkin, Reagan Hurley, Pranay Jalan Jalan, Evan Johnson, Raima Kaushal, Vedha Kongettira, Shruti Kothandaraman, Charlotte Krupa, Leonardo Kulon, Annabelle Lester, Jack Misita, Jackson Moon, Neel Popli, Owen Roos, Heather Rushton, Abigail Savage, Hannah Sheehy, Brendan Smyth, Jackson Stanek, Chloe White, Samantha Yan, Dylan Yuschik and Kai Yuschuk.
GOOD To Grow: Wilton Garden Club Dedicates “Bee Resilient” Native Pollinator Garden at Hillside Cemetery
The Wilton Garden Club dedicated its new “BEE RESILIENT” pollinator garden at Hillside Cemetery and Arboretum on Sept. 22. The garden offers visitors a place for quiet reflection while providing habitat for insects, birds and other wildlife.
Wilton resident Nan Merolla, president of the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut and a longtime Wilton Garden Club member, said droughts, temperature swings, heavy rain and flooding inspired her to launch the statewide BEE RESILIENT project. “As New England gardeners, we’re used to predictable seasons. But now, it feels like it’s no longer ‘gardening as usual,’” she said. The project encourages gardeners to build more resilient spaces by planting native species, removing invasive plants, conserving water and avoiding pesticides. The federation awarded the Wilton club the project’s first $500 grant; 33 gardens are now underway statewide.
Club members began planting at Hillside in 2025, adding more than 135 plants of native species. Committee co-chair Wayne Gura said more than 97% of the garden’s plants are native. Violets, woodland phlox and strawberries bloom in spring, followed by plants including milkweed, mountain mint, asters and goldenrod.
Conservation Committee co-chair Anne Djupedal Gura said native plants support insects that, in turn, feed birds and other wildlife. “Our gardens and landscapes need more plants that feed not only us, the gardeners, but also our struggling insects in the food web… these insects in turn feed our birds and other wildlife, which ultimately feed us as well. It falls to us to be stewards of our good earth and help the pollinators that co-evolved in our part of the world,” she said. “This garden is for them.”
