Earth Day Clean Up At Nettleton Preserve May 5

Newtown Forest Association (NFA) members invite residents, Scouts and friends of the environment to its annual Earth Day Clean Up at the Nettleton Preserve on Saturday, May 5.

Volunteers should meet at Nettleton Preserve (parking on Old Castle Drive, off Castle Hill Road) at 9:30 am. Work will take place from around 10 am to noon.

Tasks will include pruning the overhanging privet and limbs from the trails, repairing wet trail areas, removing invasive species, mulching existing plantings and flower beds, and cleaning up fallen sticks, logs, and debris. A limited number of yard tools will be available, but volunteers are encouraged to bring their own pruning clippers, lop shears, bow saws, rakes, and wheel barrows. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

NFA’s Nettleton Preserve spans a mostly wooded area that begins behind Newtown Congregational Church (less than half a mile from the flagpole) up Castle Hill to what is considered by many to be the most spectacular view in Newtown.  The site was named Castle Hill in 1888 for the castle built there by world traveler and millionaire Peter Lorrillard Ronald. The deteriorating building was demolished in 1947 and the property donated to Newtown Forest Association by Howard T. Nettleton (1973) & D. Labelle (1996).

Newtown Forest Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the oldest private land trust in Connecticut. NFA is dedicated to accumulating and preserving open space and natural resources in Newtown.

For more information on NFA, visit www.NewtownForestAssociation.org or the association’s Facebook page.