Over 50 people braved the cold to attend the Annual Meeting of the Friends of Binney Park on Wednesday evening, January 17, 2024, at the Sound Beach Firehouse in Old Greenwich. The meeting celebrated the first full year that the all-volunteer group has worked to helped make Binney Park more welcoming for visitors.

President of the Friends of Binney Park, Peter Uhry, reported that 400 daffodils had been planted and that the FoBP shared costs with the Town to replace a long-lost bronze plaque honoring world-class figure-skater Dorothy Hamill, who first learned to skate on Binney Pond.

Highlights of the hour-long gathering included an interview with Helen Delago, a lifelong Greenwich resident who was Mrs. Edwin Binney’s nurse during her final years. Linda Grunow, an Old Greenwich friend of Helen, conducted the discussion. Mrs. Delago focused her remarks on the remarkable Binney family interests in conservation and environmental issues well before they were as popular as they are today.

Dr. Greg Kramer, Superintendent of Parks & Trees and the Greenwich Tree Warden, spoke about how Greenwich has become a designated and nationally-recognized Class 2 Arboretum.

Dr. Kramer has made a point of bringing new plants to our community since he arrived in 2019 that reflect the slowly shifting change in our climate from a colder one to a period of more moderate temperatures.

Board member Cynthia Ehlinger presented the Nominating Committee’s slate of new directors, which was approved by voting members. They are John Friedman, Pam Grunow, Anne Marie Hesser, and Joan Seguin.

Almost everyone present was excited to learn who provided the winning entry in the “name the turtle mascot” contest for the Friends of Binney Park. The grand prize winner was Emilia Lim, daughter of Curtis and Mercedes Lim, whose name “BIN” was selected as the best and most original entry from over 100 that were collected by the Friends of Binney Park during last fall. Amelia won a stuffed turtle as her prize.