Field Birds
2024-08-01 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Nature Center
Come visit the Nature Center at Sherwood Island in Westport CT on August 1st 1:00 PM, to enjoy our exhibits and listen about – Field Birds in Connecticut provided by our 2024 summer intern Skyler Albon

Coyotes in Connecticut
2024-08-03 13:00 - 14:00 | Nature Center
Coyotes in Connecticut with Paul Colburn, DEEP Master Wildlife Conservationist

Meet the Turtles
2024-08-04 14:00 - 15:30 | Nature Center
Meet the Turtles with CT certified wildlife rehabilitator Jayne Sabovik.
Indoors at the Nature Center – rain or shine!

Birds of Prey
2024-08-11 14:00 - 15:30
At the Nature Center. In partnership with Earthplace.

Beardsley Zoo at the Sherwood Island Nature Center!
2024-08-16 10:00 - 16:00 | Nature Center
Come meet visiting Beardsley Zoo staff and some of the animals they will bring with them from Beardsley Zoo.

Monarch Butterfly Presentation
2024-08-17 13:00 - 14:00 | Nature Center
Ms. Cia Marion, a Westport CT. resident and avid Monarch Butterfly “nurturer”, who has several nesting stations around her backyard, will be returning to the Nature Center to share new information about this year’s hatch and allow us to observe these Monarchs further along in their development.
All ages are welcome to attend.

2024 Shorefest Silent Auction Donor Honor Roll
2024-09-04 | Main Pavilion
Thank you to all our wonderful supporters who made our 26th Annual Shorefest on September 6, 2024, such a success. Their contributions to our event and Silent Auction will help us preserve Sherwood Island State Park and support our educational programs. Please join us in thanking them for their commitment to our Sherwood Island community and conservation efforts.

ASF Sports & Outdoors
Austin-Rolfe Salon
Beltone TV Ears
B.J. Ryan restaurants
Bowlero
Bridgewater Chocolate
Captain Blake Fishing Charter
Dr. Paul Epstein
Double LL Market
Fisherman’s World
Fred Astaire Studio Norwalk
Fresh Market
Garelick and herbs
Gilberties
Gold’s Deli
Greer Southern Table
Gruel Britannia
Johnny Was
HAIR
Izzo & Sons Country Garden
Kneads
Longshore Sailing School
Massimo Italian Corner Norwalk
Miggs Burroughs
Nomade Restaurant
Ninety 9 Bottles
Nomade
Norwalk Pizza & Pasta
Odeen Oak Hill Park
Posh Paws
Posh Spa
Rizzuto’s Oyster Bar
Romanacci
Saugatuck Sweets
Salt Cave
Speedy Donuts
Stewie the Duck Swim School
Stop & Shop
Stretch Lab
Tenga
Tutti’s
The Fine Wine Company
The Home Cook CT
The Winged Monkey
WestFair Fish and Chips
Westport Farmers’ Market
Westport Playhouse

Thank you to the 2024 Shorefest Silent Auction Donor Honor Roll
2024-10-31 | Main Pavilion
Thank you to all our wonderful supporters who made our 26th Annual Shorefest on September 6, 2024, such a success. Their contributions to our event and Silent Auction will help us preserve Sherwood Island State Park and support our educational programs. Please join us in thanking them for their commitment to our Sherwood Island community and conservation efforts.
ASF Sports & Outdoors
Austin-Rolfe Salon
Beltone TV Ears
B.J. Ryan restaurants
Bowlero
Bridgewater Chocolate
Captain Blake Fishing Charter
Dr. Paul Epstein
Double LL Market
Fisherman's World
Fred Astaire Studio Norwalk
Fresh Market
Garelick and herbs
Gilberties
Gold's Deli
Greer Southern Table
Gruel Brittannia
Johnny Was
HAIR
Izzo & Sons Country Garden
Kneads
Longshore Sailing School
Massimo Italian Corner Norwalk
Miggs Burroughs
Nomade Restaurant
Ninety 9 Bottles
Nomade
Norwalk Liquor Center
Norwalk Pizza & Pasta
Odeen Oak Hill Park
Pagano's
Posh Paws
Posh Spa
Rizzuto's Oyster Bar
Romanacci
Saugatuck Sweets
Salt Cave
Speedy Donuts
Stewie the Duck Swim School
Stop & Shop
Stretch Lab
Tenga
Tutti's
The Fine Wine Company
The Home Cook CT
The Winged Monkey
Trader Joes
WestFair Fish and Chips
Westport Farmers' Market
Westport Playhouse

First Day Hike January 1, 2025
2025-01-01 11:00 - 13:00 | Nature Center
Start the new year with a breezy walk along the beach with Past FOSI President Michele Sorensen. We’ll meet in front of the Nature Center in the East Beach area. Dress for possible showers. Family and dogs on short leashes are welcome.
This is a free event.
Entrance to the Park is free for CT license plate vehicles.
Note that bathrooms are closed. Port-a-johns are available.
Park in the parking area within sight of the Nature Center.
Call Michele at 203-247-1390 if you have difficulty locating us.

Nature Photography with your Smartphone
2025-02-23 10:00 | Main Pavilion
Amble along the shore to find subjects and scenes for family or single portraits, a stunning landscape or a vibrant close-up of shells, rocks and plants. Professional photographer Alison Wachstein and nature hobbyist Michele Sorensen will help us create memorable shots. Meet at the east side of the Main Pavilion (left side from the parking area).March 9 is the weather date.
An optional $10/family contribution will go to the Friends’ Garden Team to buy plants and supplies for 2025.

Early Bird Earth Days - dune restoration - April 6, 12, 13
2025-04-06 10:00 - 2025-04-13 14:00 | East Beach
Early Bird Earth Days April 6 and 12 – Dune restoration on the East Beach, 10 am to 2 pm both days. Meet us near the East Beach Bath house. You’ll see our team in yellow vests. Event is FREE. ALL are welcome – we need your help. Great family activity!Tools and kneelers provided. Bring garden gloves. Dress warmly. Early April can be cold. If not done on April 12, we’ll work the morning of April 13 to finish.
Questions? contact michelemsorensen@gmail.com

Connecticut Trails Day (weekend)
2025-06-07 08:30 - 2025-06-08 16:30 | Nature Center
Come to the park the weekend of June 7 & 8 and particpate in Connecticut Trails Day
June 7 – CT Trails Day

8:30am – 10:30am Kayak survey of the salt marsh to find diamondback Terrapins

Paddling is the best way to explore the salt marsh. Join us to count Diamondback Terrapins with Maggie Cozens, CT Sea Grant outreach coordinator, and document birds using iNaturalist. Bring your own kayak, canoe, or other paddlecraft, as well as a life vest and whistle/horn, required by CT state boating regulations. It’s a long carry over the beach, so bring a kayak cart if you have one. We will help each other. Your leader is a retired Coastal Kayak Instructor with twenty years teaching experience. Optional: Bring waterproof binoculars for spotting birds, and/or a waterproof camera.

12:00 pm (noon) Butterfly Walk – meet at the Nature Center.

Join butterfly hobbyist Michele Sorensen to explore the gardens and natural areas around the Park’s Nature Center in search of caterpillars, skippers, moths and butterflies. We may see Mourning Cloak, Pearl Crescent, Question Mark, Monarch, Cabbage White, Orange or Clouded Sulphurs, tiny Gray Hairstreaks & Blues, and Black or Tiger Swallowtails. Michele leads the Friends’ Garden Team, which has installed hundreds of native plants to attract butterflies and birds.
Bring binoculars and a camera or smartphone. You’ll learn how to report your findings on iNaturalist so scientists anywhere can see how these insects are doing. Children are welcome.

June 8 – CT Trails day

1:00pm Archeological Walk – A walk through Historical & Archaelogical time

Join us for a family friendly, educational walk on the Sherwood Island History Trail led by Archaeologists Dawn Brown and Ernie Wiegand. Travel through time starting at the Ice Age when LI sound was formed. You’ll see points of historic interest and examine the traces of past inhabitants of Sherwood Island, from Native Americans in 1000 B.C. to onion farmers of the 1940s. Artifacts, maps, old photos, and recent recoveries will be used to bring the island’s past inhabitants to life.

3:30pm Beach to Beach Walk

Discover Sherwood Island with Louis Pietig! Go beach to beach and discover habitats, inhabitants, and special features – 9/11 Memorial, Model Airport, wetlands, pine forest – of this waterfront Gateway park. We’ll start at the Nature Center and end at the Pavilion.

Registration is suggested/required for each CT Trails day event. Please use Trailsday.org or the links shown below.
https://trailsday.org/events/kayak-paddle-survey-terrapins-and-birds-in-the-marsh/
https://trailsday.org/events/island-butterfly-walk/
https://trailsday.org/events/a-walk-through-historical-and-archeological-time/
https://trailsday.org/events/beach-to-beach-an-island-walk-for-friends-and-families/

Friends of Sherwood Island Annual Meeting
2025-06-08 16:00 - 18:00 | Nature Center
Please join us for our Annual Meeting on Sunday, June 8th at 4 pm at the Nature Center. Meet and vote for the 2025-2026 Board and Officers.
Guest Speaker: Jo-Marie Kasinak, M.S, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Biology, Sacred Heart University
“Project Limulus: 27 years of horseshoe crab research, education, and conservation”
By training Jo-Marie Kasinak is an aquatic ecologist working in both freshwater and marine habitats. Currently she is collaborating on a restoration project in Stratford CT, the goal of which is to restore the intertidal habitat and coastal upland at the site. Reef balls and oyster castles have been added to the intertidal zone and salt marsh grasses have been planted. In the upland, hundreds of trees, shrub, and pollinator habitats have been planted as well. Kasinak is also the Director of Project Limulus, a long term and large scale study of the horseshoe crab population in Long Island Sound. Each year Project Limulus hosts dozens of talks and beach walks where they educate hundreds of children and adults about horseshoe crabs and the Long Island Sound ecosystem. For the past few years Kasinak has been collaborating with researchers from Southern Connecticut State University, the University of Connecticut, and Cardiff University (Wales), to explore Ocean Identity and how ocean spaces impact people. This marine social science project is using the education and outreach program of Project Limulus as a test bed for the survey designed to mean Ocean Identity. For more information on Project Limulus visit www.projectlimulus.org, for more information on Ocean Identity visit www.oceanidentity.org.
To be Held at the Nature Center at Sherwood Island State Park, Westport, CT
Directly off I-95 Exit 18 Sherwood Island Connector)
Free Admission Refreshments
Bring your binoculars for birding from the porch at 3 pm. Use our spotting scope to check in on our resident Osprey. See if you can spot a Bald Eagle. Observe the Purple Martins caring for young in the colony nest boxes right in front of the Nature Center.

Meet and Greet with Smoky Bear!
2025-06-27 12:00 - 14:00 | Nature Center
Meet and Greet with Smokey Bear
Come visit Sherwood Island Nature Center to meet Smokey Bear and some of his wildland firefighters to learn about forest fire prevention in CT

Watch the Turtles Have Their Lunch - Daily from 2pm to 3pm
2025-06-30 14:00 - 2025-09-01 15:00 | Nature Center
Do you love turtles? Come to the Nature Center everyday from 2pm to 3pm to watch the turtles have their lunch and learn about the different species of turtles that live in CT, specifically at Sherwood Island, and what to do when you find one.

Bird Identification on Wednesdays from 10 am - 12pm
2025-07-02 10:00 - 2025-09-03 12:00
Sherwood Island is a very popular bird watching location because of the various species we see in the park. Birds come and go all the time, so you may see someone new every time! Come join us and idenify birds using sight and sound!
Location: Location will change each week. Please ask the ticket pooth attendant when you enter the park or any park staff as to where to meet your bird watching guide.
Supplies: We have a limited supply of binoculars and bird identification guides to share and we encourage our guests to bring their own if they have them.

Purple Martin Banding - July 11 at 9:30
2025-07-11 09:30 - 2025-07-15 11:00 | Nature Center

Donors to Shorefest 2025
2025-09-05 08:00 - 17:00 | Main Pavilion
Thank you to all the organizations that have already donated to Shorefest’s silent auction!
Double L Market
Rizzuto’s Oyster Bar
Gilberties
Trader Joe’s
The Liquor Center
Millie’s Hair Salon
Norwalk Pizza and Pasta
Bowlero- AMF bowling lanes and arcade
The Device Shop
Riko’s
Sweet Ashley’s
Village Bagels
Don Carmelo’s Mexican Grill
Longshore Sailing School
Tutti’s
Westport Farmers Market
Dippin Chicken
Wave Hill Breads
Westport Playhouse
The Spotted Horse Tavern
The Fresh Market
99 Bottles
Posh Paws – Fairfield
Fisherman’s World
Westport Fire Department
Romanacci
Westport Police Department
Austin – Rolfe Salon
Nomade Restaurant
Captain Blake
Wakeman’s Town Farm
Miggs Burroughs
The Liquor Center
Caraluzzi’s
Tengda Asian Restaurant
Norm Bloom Oysters
Bungalow – Home Decor Store
The Device Shope
Fred Astaire Dance Studio
HAIR – Fairfield
Gruel Britannia Restaurant
Little Barn Restaurant
Beltone Hearing Aid Center
Women’s Club of Westport
SUPPORT THE FRIENDS, SUPPORT THE PARK
Hi – Thanks for your interest in our event. Since we need to provide enough time before the event for our caterer to order all the fabulous lobsters, our ticket sales have now closed. We look forward to seeing you next year (or anytime over the next year at the park).
Thanks!
Please RSVP by Sunday, August 31 for $125 Adult Dinner and $15 for Child (12 or under) OR September 1 to September 3 for $150 Adult and $15 Child

Mark your calendar for Friday, September 5th, 6-9 pm for our annual fundraiser, Shorefest.
This vibrant event brings together over a hundred active supporters and their families and friends who gather at the park for a delightful seafood fest along Long Island Sound. Live music, dinners by Westfair Fish & Chips, appetizers, desserts and beverages – and our fun Silent Auction.

Shorefest - Ticket sales have now closed
2025-09-05 18:00 - 21:00 | Main Pavilion
SUPPORT THE FRIENDS, SUPPORT THE PARK
Hi – Thanks for your interest in our event. Since we need to provide enough time before the event for our caterer to order all the fabulous lobsters, our ticket sales have now closed. We look forward to seeing you next year (or anytime over the next year at the park).
Thanks!
Please RSVP by Sunday, August 31 for $125 Adult Dinner and $15 for Child (12 or under) OR September 1 to September 3 for $150 Adult and $15 Child

Mark your calendar for Friday, September 5th, 6-9 pm for our annual fundraiser, Shorefest.
This vibrant event brings together over a hundred active supporters and their families and friends who gather at the park for a delightful seafood fest along Long Island Sound. Live music, dinners by Westfair Fish & Chips, appetizers, desserts and beverages – and our fun Silent Auction.
Why Your Support Matters:

Preserving Our Natural Gem: Your contribution directly impacts our ability to protect this scarce coastal sanctuary space in Fairfield County, and expand, protect, and care for the park’s wildlife habitat, as well as restore trees lost to storms.
Educational Outreach: It also supports our Nature Center programs, exhibits, and summer interns, providing hands-on environmental education to hundreds of children and adults among the over 350,000 visitors to this Gateway waterfront State Park each year.

We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Shorefest - Ticket sales have now closed.
2025-09-05 18:00 - 21:00
Ticket sales have now closed for our Annual fundraiser – Shorefest – Friday, September 5th, 6-9 pm
This vibrant event brings together over a hundred active supporters and their families and friends who gather at the park for a delightful seafood fest along Long Island Sound. Live music, dinners by Westfair Fish & Chips, appetizers, desserts and beverages – and our fun Silent Auction.
Why Your Support Matters:

Preserving Our Natural Gem: Your contribution directly impacts our ability to protect this scarce coastal sanctuary space in Fairfield County, and expand, protect, and care for the park’s wildlife habitat, as well as restore trees lost to storms.
Educational Outreach: It also supports our Nature Center programs, exhibits, and summer interns, providing hands-on environmental education to hundreds of children and adults among the over 350,000 visitors to this Gateway waterfront State Park each year.

Thanks for your interest in our event. Since we need to provide enough time before the event for our caterer to order all the fabulous lobsters, our ticket sales have now closed. We look forward to seeing you next year (or anytime over the next year at the park).
Thanks!
Please RSVP by Sunday, August 31 for $125 Adult Dinner and $15 for Child (12 or under) OR September 1 to September 3 for $150 Adult and $15 Child

Celebrate the Winter Solstice with us on Sunday, December 21 at 10 am
2025-12-21 10:00 - 11:30 | Main Pavilion
Celebrate the Winter Solstice with us on Sunday, December 21 at 10 am.
We’ll teach you Winter Seed Sowing in milk jugs, starting with a beach stroll to collect seeds. Come to the Main Pavilion promptly at 10 am. Bring a rinsed, empty plastic milk jug, as pictured below. We’ll have tools to cut, label, and make drainage holes. We’ll provide potting soil. You’ll get to take home several kinds of native wildflowers to grow outside in a protected spot. Refreshments and a surprise visitor will add to the fun.

Love Yourself - Get Outdoors
2026-02-14 11:00 - 12:00 | Main Pavilion
February 14 – Love Yourself – Get Outdoors
Linda Gottlieb, FIT Trainer, “helping people over 50 embrace exercise for healthy aging, disease management, and for pre and post surgical and cancer recovery” will lead us this morning.

Practice green exercise. Experience ‘Forest bathing.” Learn to use the “nature pyramid” to guide your exercise.

Free. All are welcome.

Meet 11 am at Main Pavilion, west side.

Sponsored by the Friends of Sherwood Island State Park.
