Andrew Mangold wants to install "an edible fruit trail" along the walking path winding through Fairfield Hills.

The Newtown native presented his concept to the Fairfield Hills Authority (FHA) on Monday, February 22, when members were quick to welcome his idea of developing areas to be planted and tended by volunteers.

"You've passed the first hurdle," FHA Chairman Thomas Connors said.

Mr Mangold and several supporters brought sketches of what the recreational trail could look like with fruit trees and ground cover planted along its sides. He offered authority members printed information to review, which included a map of Fairfield Hills divided like a pie into eight sections. A line tracing the current trail, which skirts along the campus's edge, runs through the sections. He proposes that volunteer teams could tend to those eight locations.

The last statement on the information Mr Mangold provided says: "We have all talked about making the world a better place. This is our plan to realize that world. We invite you, your inspiration, vision, and support to join this cause."

Several paragraphs answer the question: How is this related to the [12/14] tragedy? His information states, "This project is for all people. It is a living vision of a sustainable future … this project serves to bring health to our community."

Also stated: "This is for the children of Sandy Hook, of course, how could it not be? But it is for all people; all who have been lost or hurt or suffered in some way. We all deserve better."

Mr Mangold's information states: "This is going to have a huge impact on the kids themselves; our students will grow along with the trees. They will mature together."

The statement continues: "Let us transform this space into a living, breathing campus."

Among those with Mr Mangold last week was Katy Caulfield. "It's a place where all kids can go," she said, noting that the trail would be situated near schools. "This is a place where people can connect with nature," she said.

The plantings would be of permaculture design, with the various types of plants "working together," Mr Mangold said. Some plants will help suppress weeds, act as pollinator plants, or provide deep roots to draw nutrients up from the earth, then drop it on the garden as its leaves fall, he added.

Money raised will determine the extent of their planting, Mr Mangold said. The first option ("Tier One") could cost between $5,000 and $10,000 and include a variety of specimen fruit trees to be the foundation of the trail covering between 2,500 to 5,000 linear feet. Tiers Two and Three include hearty perennial herbs and wildflowers to fill the space, ground cover, robust herbaceous plants, signage, and more. Tier Three could cost as much as $50,000, or less, depending on the extent of planting. The figures are funding goals, he told the authority, and he already has potential donors in mind.

Mr Connors thinks the idea is "great," and asked for a more detailed plan and costs. Mr Mangold would like to begin the project in late spring. He said he has done plantings in other locations, but never on this scale. He would be happy, he said, to prepare more for the authority to review.

In a recent e-mail he said the project's working title is "The Newtown Fruit Trail." The trail is being designed through Mr Mangold's group, GreenTek, an interdependent network of farms and communities that exist to conduct widespread, edible restoration projects and healing events. But the real emphasis on this project is just the fruit trail itself, he said.

"It is just as well to consider it a raw initiative coming straight out of our community," he said via e-mail. "In fact, nearly all of our members were raised in Newtown, and, this whole thing started when we proposed a 'Farm Park' to the Land Use department back in the summer of 2014... so, it has always been about planting a community-based vision of paradise within our own town. Now, it has evolved into 'The Fruit Trail,' along the new walking path which, ultimately, is the best location I could have ever asked for.

"This is about doing good in our town," Mr Mangold added. "As much good as possible, in order to set the foundation for a more healthy, stable future."

Parks and Recreation Director Amy Mangold, also Mr Mangold's mother, is "excited" about the project, she said, and looks forward to her son's presentation before her commission. She knows the authority was also "excited and supportive of the plans and ideas these young adults presented," she told The Newtown Bee.

"Any multigenerational project that connects the community with nature, supports education, preservation, reviving the food chain, bringing back butterfly and bird migration and pollination fits many goals we have been addressing townwide," Ms Mangold said. Connecting with nature "boosts creativity and health. This project touches on so many of these needs," she added.

Ms Mangold also said she likes that the proposed plantings will be along the campus trail and near the Victory Garden, a garden tended by volunteer teams with its produce donated to Newtown's food pantries.

A website for the project is currently under construction. Residents who wish to learn more about the effort can reach Mr Mangold at ajm09@hampshire.edu.