Griffin Bariatrics to offer virtual seminars on weight-loss services

DERBY - Griffin Bariatrics will offer free virtual presentations on weight-loss services on June 21 at 5:30 p.m., June 27 at noon, July 19 at 5:30 p.m., July 25 at noon, Aug. 7 at 5:30 p.m., Aug. 16 at 5:30 p.m., and  Aug. 29 at noon.

Led by Griffin Hospital Director of Bariatrics Dr. Abe Fridman, these seminars will explain how bariatric surgery can help patients lose significant amounts of weight, enhance their health, and provide long-term outcomes. Additionally, techniques, support programs, pre- and post-operative expectations, and insurance questions are also discussed.

Griffin Hospital established its comprehensive weight loss surgery program, Griffin Bariatrics, to provide a medical solution for patients with more substantial weight loss needs. 

The long-term success enjoyed by Griffin Bariatrics patients is a result of excellent medical care, including the latest minimally invasive surgical procedures, combined with access to a full range of multidisciplinary services that have been assembled to support them before, during, and after their surgery.

To register, contact Bariatric Care Specialist Kimberly Fisher at kfisher@griffinhealth.org or 203-732-7108. 

For more information about Griffin Bariatrics, visit griffinhospitalbariatrics.com.

This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.

Griffin Hospital in Derby offers healthy living courses

To Register for all programs: Call Griffin Center for Healthy Living Coordinator at 203-732-1369.

Eating Smart, Being Active: Weight Loss Toolkit (FREE)

Eating Smart, Being Active © Weight Loss Toolkit is an evidence-based healthy eating and active living curriculum for adults. Curriculum content is based on the latest research findings from the American Dietary Guidelines and was written by educators at Colorado State University. The lesson content emphasizes tools for sustained weight loss, such as creating individualized meal plans and viewing weight loss exercises. The program is designed to ensure participants learn what it means to lead a healthy life, including concepts like physical activity, food preparation, cooking & shopping skill development, and food safety. Nutrition education for chronic disease management is integrated into every class. Weight Loss Toolkit FREE 6 Class Course Jan. 31 – Feb. 7, 14, 21, 28, Mar 7 Tues. 9:30 -11 a.m. In-Person Griffin Hospital, 130 Division St., Derby-Dining Room 1

Heart Health Workshop FREE 3 Class Course

Heart Health Workshop (FREE) Heart Health is a 3-week workshop that provides information on heart disease with an emphasis on the management of hypertension and elevated cholesterol. American Heart Association curriculum covers nutrition, exercise, body composition, and stress reduction education. Class meets once a week for 90 minutes. Weekly speakers include a Griffin registered nurse, exercise physiologist, nutritionist and certified diabetes care and education specialist. Heart Health Workshop (FREE) February 2, 9, 16 Thursday Offering (2) Sessions 10-11:30 a.m. OR  4-5:30 p.m. Griffin Hospital, 130 Division St., Derby-Childbirth Center A That’s it—Learn to Quit – Smoking Cessation (FREE) That’s It—Learn to Quit is a 4-week behavioral change program designed to help any tobacco/nicotine user, including those who may be unsure about wanting to quit, to specifically address ambivalence about quitting. Participants will learn techniques and obtain resources on how to stop smoking. Facilitators assist participants in creating a quit plan and provide the necessary tools in managing smoking triggers. Educational materials, small group sessions and a supportive environment provides a welcoming space to learn the skills to help you quit smoking. Find comfort in coming together with like-minded individuals enduring their own attempts to quit; satisfaction ratings are over 98%. All ex-smokers also welcome if looking for support to stay quit. Smoking Cessation FREE 4 Class Course Feb. 8, 15, 22 Wed 7-8 p.m. Griffin Health Zoom Registration Call 203-732-1369 This information is shared from a Griffin Hospital newsletter.

Derby Green Market to open for season on Sunday

Healthy Living Extravaganza planned at Woodbridge Senior Center

WOODBRIDGE - New England Young at Heart will host a Healthy Living Extravaganza from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Senior Center gymnasium, 4 Meetinghouse Lane.

Admission is free. 
There will be raffles, and a boxed lunch for the first 50 people. Vendors welcome.

For more information contact Elaine Marcucio, 203-887-5047.

Learn beekeeping, astronomy, more at Ansonia Nature Center

BACK TO BASICS: Beekeeping 101 - 2 p.m. Saturday
Learn the basics to start your own hive. Take a close-up look at the queen, workers, and drones with bee keeper Dawn Sotir.
See it all first-hand inside the Nature Center’s observation hive. Free; please register.

HEALTHY LIVING SERIES – 2 p.m. Sunday

Join us for the last of our three-part healthy living series. We’ll learn about growing healthy food from Jeff Rubelmann, healthy homesteader and certified permaculturist. 

We will focus on the interactions in soil, creating and building rich healthy soil, pH, soil fertilizers, compost teas, 18-day compost method, and worm farms.

This class is just in time to apply some of these techniques and knowledge to your 2015 garden season. Free; please register.

SPRING EQUINOX DRUMMING WITH CHE CARTAFALSA - 2 p.m. March 21
Che Cartafalsa is a musician, instrument maker, and educator whose work has ranged from concert halls and orchestras to rock bands and West African street weddings. As a member of Toubabou and the White-Eyed Lizard Band, he has played throughout the Northeast. 

Che passes on to his students what he has learned from African percussion masters, emphasizing instrumental technique, listening skills and multi-layered rhythms in percussion. Authentic instruments will be used to help us learn traditional African rhythms. Free; please register.

WINTER ASTRONOMY - 7 p.m. March 28
Did you ever wonder how a star is born? Come to learn on a great night with “Bobcat” Carruthers and members of the New Haven Astronomical Society.
Find out about the life and death of stars and the different types of stars in our universe. Venture outside (weather permitting) to view not only the stars but also Jupiter and its moons. Free; please register.

To register for any programs or for more information call 203-736-1053.


This is a press release from the Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center.

Ansonia Nature Center to host art group, animal tracking, documentary on conservation, more

January activities planned

HEALTHY LIVING SERIES – Join us at 2 p.m. Sunday for the second of three sessions on healthy living. 

Americans over-consume processed foods yet we are undernourished! We are polluted from the foods we eat! 
Learn why everyone should eat clean and detox at least once in his/her life. 

If you experience fatigue, indigestion, joint pain, anxiety, skin problems, or many other issues it may be time to take charge of your health and rid your body of toxins from food that has been altered by chemicals. 

Free; please register in advance. 

FIBER ARTS GROUP - Slated from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesdays starting Jan. 13.
Get together with others to work on your fiber arts projects! Bring any kind of fiber work—knitting, felting, crocheting, etc. 

If you took our Knitting 101 workshop, you can continue the project you started there. A great way to dedicate time to your handiwork and socialize, too. Free.

19TH ANNUAL DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.’S LEGACY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE  - Jan. 18, noon–4 p.m.; Jan. 19, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Join the Nature Center staff and volunteers at the Yale Peabody Museum, 170 Whitney Ave., New Haven. 

The Peabody will once again offer world-class performances and educational activities for visitors of all ages, in honor of Dr. King and his efforts to ensure justice for all people.

CONSERVATION DOCUMENTARY - "Bag It" to be shown at 2 p.m. Jan. 25.

Is your life too plastic? This enjoyable documentary sheds light on our world’s serious but seemingly unnoticed addiction to plastic in our everyday lives. It tells why plastic is a problem for us and our planet, and what you can do to eradicate plastic in your life starting the instant you’ve seen this film. 

Free. Please pre-register.

ART OF ANIMAL TRACKING – Explore the Nature Center’s property this winter for animal signs at 1 p.m. Jan. 31.

Ranger Jess, also an educator at the Two Coyotes Wilderness School, will teach you tracking techniques used by native people of many cultures. 
Follow the signs and tracks and become an animal detective. Learn how to identify the species in our park and make a plaster cast for your own collection. 

Free. Please pre-register for this family-oriented program. 

EAGLE WATCHING AT THE SHEPAUG DAM – At 9 a.m. on a Saturday, date to be determined.
Nature Center director Alison Rubelmann will lead this field trip to the Shepaug Dam in Southbury to view the bald eagles wintering on the Housatonic River. 

Meet at the Nature Center parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp to carpool or caravan. Group size is limited. 

Pre-registration is required. Fee: $3. Dress in warm shoes and clothes. 

To register and for more information on all programs call 203-736-1053. 

The nature center is at 10 Deerfield Road. 

This is a press release from the Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center.