Fairport trail gets sundial, butterfly garden

Velvet Spicer//May 22, 2018//

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A ribbon cutting was held Monday for the improvements made to the Thomas Creek Wetland Walk in the Village of Fairport. (Photo provided)

Fairport residents and visitors to the idyllic town on the Erie Canal have more to occupy their time this summer with a new public art installation and trail improvements at Thomas Creek Wetland in the village.

A $50,000 matching grant provided by the New York State Canal Corp. through the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council has enabled the Fairport Industrial Development Agency and the Fairport Public Art Committee to commission artists to enhance the pedestrian connection between the wetland walk and the Erie Canalway Trail in the village.

The improvements include a butterfly garden, artistic directional signs and an analemmatic sundial—a horizontal sundial that has a vertical gnomon and hour markers positioned in an elliptical pattern—made from stones salvaged from a 19th century version of the Erie Canal. The sundial was created by Vanessa Sheldon of Rochester.

“As a promoter of environmental stewardship, I felt compelled to create a sculpture that pays homage to what was once coined ‘the Eighth Wonder of the World,’” Sheldon said.

The project also improves access to the trail, upgrades the site entrance and expands the parking area.

“This is a shining example of how the arts and the Erie Canal can come together to create vibrant public spaces,” Canal Corp. director Brian Stratton said in a statement. “Fairport has long been a quintessential canal village, and this installation will make it an even more compelling destination.”

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