Wednesday afternoon, June 24, was calm and bright with cotton clouds stretching across a crisp blue sky. The scene was easy to see for the group of interns working at Nettleton Preserve off Castle Hill Road — one of Newtown’s most photographed and most scenic points.

The young men spent their afternoon on the Newtown Forest Association (NFA) property clearing out invasive plants and doing light maintenance.  NFA  Treasurer Guy Peterson watched as Doug Main pulled up foliage from around the property sign marking the 23-acre preserve — a sloping property where an apple orchard and trails sit below a meadow. That afternoon Mr Peterson noted the hillside filled with an abundance of milkweed. He also mentioned the clusters of poison ivy mixed with the growth being cleared by Matt Krasnickas, Devin Peterson, Brendan Peterson, and Sean Wallace. Missing that afternoon were Ryan Norton and Max McCleary.

Thanks to grant funds, the NFA has added paid interns to work with them and caretaker Dave Brooker this year. Seven intern are working 25 hours a week at the Nettleton and other NFA properties. Mr Peterson and others identify projects there and at the Blackman Preserve at the intersection of Blackman Road and Mt Pleasant Road, where interns have also cleared invasives. Another almost “daily chore” is keeping up with the beaver activity at Cavanaugh Pond, Mr Peterson said. The work at Nettleton adds to the ongoing Nettleton Memorial Orchard Project, which in past seasons has seen significant tree clearing to uncover and prune a choked apple orchard.

Looking across the field of chest-high milkweed, he said, “Six months ago this was a forest; now it’s a clear palette.” Once they have handled the erosoin issues, he said they will have the “contour of this property.”

They will plant wildlife edges with friendly habitat, said NFA President Robert Eckenrode. The NFA has also been working with the town to manage storm drain runoff, which has caused erosoin on the Nettleton property. This fall Mr Peterson said the NFA plans to plant a variety of mature apple trees that blossom in different colors and will hopefully “extend the flowering period.”

Also stopping to soak in the improved view and envisoining the property’s future, Mr Eckenrode said, “The view coming over the hill is better already.” Learn more about the NFA, a private land trust, at newtownforestassociation.org.

According to the website, the NFA is the oldest private land trust organization in the state. “We are dedicated to preserving forests, agricultural lands, nature preserves, watersheds and other open space lands in Newtown, for the ongoing benefit of the plant, animals and citizens of our town. The vision of the NFA is to be a driving force for maintaining the rural character of Newtown through the acquisition and stewardship of open space of all kinds. To this end, we will engage with the community, the town, the State of Connecticut and like-minded organizations whenever possible to fulfill our mission of preserving open space in Newtown.”