Open Space In The Neighborhoods

By Kendra Bobowick

Deer paths and overhanging tree limbs stretch past mature trunks casting shade along rocks and moss; a stream or vernal pool sit quietly where it seasonally dries up without detection. If people know about open space and the natural elements hidden behind neighborhoods or parks, they might appreciate it, suggested Deputy Director of Planning and Land Use Rob Sibley. Have we wooded spaces off the worn paths of a favorite hiking trail or rockier terrain stretching down a slope to abut a neighborhood farm and field?

Throughout town are open space parcels either landlocked by private property, or accessible to the public where they stand alone or connecting to larger swaths of protected land.

“If your neighborhood doesn’t know about it, it gets abused or neglected,” Mr Sibley said. In a town with such a “rich history of open space and trails,” he wants to begin the process of connection.

Monday, November 30, the Newtown Conservation Commission will host a reception from 11 to 11:30 am celebrating the town’s open space program. Between 11:30 am and 2 pm the commission will conduct a session for volunteers interested in helping clear trails and enjoy a hike on one 80-plus acre segment of open space at 36 Brushy Hill Road, adjacent to the Lato family farm.

This particular open space segment is also near Dickinson Park, where residents can park and enjoy trail access and begin to recognize the many open space acres throughout town that are “in place for years to come,” Mr Sibley said.

The ceremony begins a larger campaign to identify open space areas with signs and access to residents who would like to enjoy the receding sounds of traffic, lawnmowers, or car horns as they step deeper into a space filled with tree roots and stone underfoot, the sounds of a squirrel in the dry leaves or a stream trickling nearby.

Roughly 1,000 feet of trail at 36 Brushy Hill need hand pruning and clearing. After months of surveying, volunteers have clearly marked boundaries as guidelines to favorable access areas. “It’s marked and easy going,” Mr Sibley said. The Parks & Recreation Department has been a part of efforts to oversee clearing.

Through the benefit of a $15,000 community grant from Iroquois Gas, new signage marks the open space. Invited to Monday’s event is First Selectman Joe Borst, First Selectman-elect Pat Llodra, State Representatives Chris Lyddy and DebraLee Hovey, State Senator John McKinney, members from the Newtown Legislative Council, Newtown Forest Association, and the Newtown Bridle Lands Association.

Mr Sibley anticipates a broader approach to identifying and marking the town’s open spaces. “The point is we’re beginning a project much larger that the single event,” Mr Sibley explained. As more grants and additional funds become available, he hopes to promote similar efforts across town at various open spaces conducive to passive recreation.