‘Spiders Among Us’ program planned

The Roxbury Land Trust will sponsor a program, “Spiders Among Us,” a free, fun and family-oriented program about spiders, Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. at Roxbury Town Hall on Route 67.

The program will kick off with a performance of an original 10-minute comedy, “Widows,” by New York playwright Joe Godfrey, featuring two Region 12 students, Harlequin Sullivan and Willow Kuck.

Nick Barnett, animal curator at the Children’s Museum of West Hartford, will present a talk on the intricate role spiders play in our ecosystem, while crawling, creeping and weaving among us.

During the program, participants will meet live spiders from around the world and discover what makes them so unique.

Barnett has been the animal curator at the Children’s Museum since 2014. Prior to that, he first became involved with animals as a child taking summer classes at Roaring Brook Nature Center, then volunteered to care for the animals working on the weekends and finally teaching summer camps in 2010.

While attending Central Connecticut State University, he worked part-time at Roaring Brook and, in 2012, was hired for an animal caretaker position at the Wildlife Sanctuary at The Children's Museum.

The two actresses performing in “Widows” have been involved in theatre from an early age.

Harlequin Sullivan, a ninth grader at Shepaug Valley High School, has been participating in theater since she was 5.

Willow Kuck, a seventh grader at Shepaug Valley Middle School, made her stage debut in the middle school play.