Former Resident Honored For Conservation Efforts That Continue To Benefit Newtown

By Shannon Hicks

Polly Brody was presented a Certificate of Individual Achievement: Conservation by The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut, Inc., and Town & Country Garden Club of Newtown recently.

The award had been announced on October 30 during the state garden club’s annual awards luncheon at The Aqua Turf in Southington, but the certificate itself was presented to Ms Brody on November 14 at the beginning of the Town & Country Garden’s Club’s monthly meeting. The group meets at Newtown Senior Center on the second Wednesday of each month, and the special presentation was the first item of the evening’s agenda.

Maria Nahoum, the president of The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut, made the drive from her home in New Milford to Sandy Hook on Wednesday evening to present the award to Ms Brody.

“Polly, you have been chosen to be honored by the Town & Country Garden Club of Newtown and by the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut for your exceptional contributions in the areas of conservation,” Ms Nahoum told Ms Brody. “Your record has been impressive: lectures on animal behavior, especially birds, for 40 years; a census taker for the Hawk Migration Association for 27 years, leading the Audubon Society Christmas Count for 40 years, and while on the Newtown Conservation Commission, you worked tirelessly until the EPA designated an area along the Housatonic River as a nature preserve.

“You are truly to be congratulated,” she said. The award was established in 2002 by the state garden club in honor of Jeanne Lena, for excellence in conservation.

Past Town & Country President Margareta Kotch had nominated Ms Brody for the honor.

“The state forgot to notify us of the award, so [Polly] wasn’t there when they were presented, and none of us were there, so it was very disappointing,” Mrs Kotch said this week. “Maria was willing to come to the next board meeting, however, so we made arrangements for Polly to join us for that and had our own little presentation.”

A former resident of Newtown who now lives in Southbury, Polly Brody graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a bachelor of arts degree and then returned to school in mid-life to earn a master’s in biology from Southern Connecticut State University.  She has traveled widely in Europe, East Africa, Australia and South America.

She has also been an active advocate for the environment and while serving as chairman of Newtown Conservation Commission she helped to preserve 790 acres of prime woodland – a peninsula with three miles of lakefront. She also served on Newtown Water Pollution Control Authority when the plan for municipal sewers was being formulated.

Ms Brody is also an author. Her first poetry collection, Other Nations, was released in 1999. Her book of essays, The Burning Bush, was published in 2005 by Antrim House. Her most recent release is At The Flower’s Lip, a collection of poems that depict the anguish of divorce and the joy of late-life love that was published this past summer, also by Antrim House.

It is very unusual for a non-garden club member to receive an award from the state garden club.

“But we felt it was truly deserved,” Maria Nahoum said while presenting the award to Ms Brody.