Groton ― The Town Hall and the Town Hall Annex have been landscaped to improve the appearance of the area and promote biodiversity and resiliency.

“It’s now a beautiful, welcoming area,“ said Groton Beautification Committee Chair Cindy Fortner.

Peter Wood, a landscape contractor working with the Groton Beautification Committee, which focuses on beautifying Groton through plantings and arts, designed a new landscape for outside the Town Hall at 45 Fort Hill Road, said Fortner. The project entailed removing the old bushes and sod and installing trees and flowering plants that provide habitat for bees, butterflies and insects and birds.

The trees will provide shade, which is beneficial to counteract the urban “heat island effect” produced in many cities, Fortner said. The plants will help suck in moisture to reduce flooding and also will promote biodiversity.

“Each thing we do is a piece of the puzzle to try to make it a more resilient landscape,” Fortner said.

The project was funded through American Rescue Plan Act funding, after the town approved $10,000 in ARPA funds, she said.

The outside of the Town Hall Annex at 134 Groton Long Point Road also got an upgrade with the removal of invasive weeds and the installation of 80 native plants from 10 different species that support pollinators, Fortner explained. Fortner said the plants feed native insects and birds which increases biodiversity and helps support the food web.

“It’s vital to life on earth,” Fortner said.

Breezeline employees, beautification committee members, and residents volunteered, with help from a Parks and Recreation employee, on Sept. 30 to spruce up the area outside the Town Hall Annex.

Fortner said Parks and Recreation Director Mark Berry had been approached by Breezeline, which was looking to do a community project. Berry put Fortner in touch with the company, and Breezeline partnered with the committee on the project.

Fortner said the committee and Parks and Recreation had $500 each for the project, but Breezline made a $1,000 donation to the committee, so the committee will be able to continue its efforts.

k.drelich@theday.com