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STRATFORD — The Town Hall green is filled with a deep red.

The Stratford community, led by a trio of art teachers from around the school district, has installed 1,500 ceramic poppies on the green in time for Memorial Day. The project, aptly named Operation Poppy, has been two years in the making.

“It was great for the community, coming out of COVID-19 and people being isolated and indoors. It was nice just to get people together,” art teacher Aubrey Booska from Eli Whitney Elementary School said Thursday.

Booska joined groups of students, fellow art teachers, town officials and veterans to install the poppies Thursday morning. She said the group was done by about noon.

She said teachers came out to the green, talked about the historical significance of the poppy and then guided their students on where to plant them.

“The kids were really excited making these,” Booska said.

The red poppy is a common symbol of a fallen soldier. The annual commemoration of lost veterans, Memorial Day, is coming up on May 30. The poppies will be in place until Tuesday, Booska said.

Once they remove the poppies, 151 of them will be donated to the Stratford Veterans Museum. The poppies set for donation have been tagged and will be on permanent display at the museum. They represent the 151 residents who have died at war, Booska said.

The remaining poppies will be sold at the Main Street Festival on June 4. Benefits from sales will go to the veteran’s museum and other charitable organizations. They will cost around $5 each, Booska said.

“I think it’s a great example of the tremendous support we’ve received in town,” Bill O’Brien, the Stratford Veterans Museum treasurer and Town Council member,…