WILTON — United Way of the Tri-Valley Area recently provided a $1,000 Special Project Grant to Friends of Wilson Lake (FOWL) to support the purchase of a water quality monitoring buoy/device which monitors the temperature and dissolved oxygen level in Wilson Lake. Water quality has been declining over the past 10 years leading to Wilson Lake being put on the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s Threatened Lakes Watch List in 2016.

The health of Wilson Lake is critically important to the region. It provides recreational opportunities to a diverse population; the lake is an economic driver; and is the back-up water supply for Wilton and Jay. It also hosts an active summer meals program which is held on its shores at Kineowatha Park.

FOWL is working collaboratively with University of Maine at Farmington faculty and students to install, maintain, and collect data from the monitoring device. The equipment was launched recently. It will remain in year-round.

United Way also recently provided $2,500 in funding to Life Enrichment Advancing People (LEAP) to make its Stone Soup Gardens and Woods more accessible to those with limited mobility. Specifically, an additional 225 feet of hard packed surface will be added to the pick your own apple lane and the blueberry patch culminating at a landing circle where a wheelchair accessible picnic table will be sited. Stone Soup Gardens and Woods is located just off Route 2 across from the Farmington Motel and is open to the public. It is a network of walking trails, animal habitats, fit stations, forests and orchards.

Special projects funding is designed to address emergent human service needs in greater Franklin County. Preference is given to programs and projects that are collaborative and innovative in nature. United Way welcomes special project requests.Visit www.uwtva.org/what-we-do/funding/special-projects to apply, or contact Lisa Laflin, executive director at 207-778-5048 or director@uwtva.org.

Water quality testing equipment is assembled on the lawn at the University of Maine at Farmington. Students feed ropes into the water using a drawing of what the equipment looks like in the water. United Way of the Tri-Valley Area recently provided a $1,000 grant to support the project.