Spring Hill Farm Preserve

The Spring Hill Farm Preserve is a work in progress. Thanks to an Eagle Scout Project with Jaden J. Nesheiwat (Scouting America Troop 1607) and dedicated Southbury Land Trust Stewardship crews and volunteers, this property is on target to open in 2026. Another Eagle Scout Project is set to work on the next phase of the build-out next month. Read more below.

SLT Stewardship Director Patrick Monahan on a portion of Spring Hill Farm's newly installed "bog walk"

The Southbury Land Trust’s newest property, the 31-acre Spring Hill Farm Preserve, is in the northeast corner of town. Property highlights include a large field with views of Woodbury, and a former farm pond. The pond will have a viewing platform with seating for observing wildlife. SLT has tentatively set 2026 for opening this property to the public.

Until then, a lot of work has been completed, and there is also a lot of work yet to do.

A discussion with Stewardship Director Pat Monahan follows the progress.

When the property was acquired, SLT Trustee and Grants Lead Anne Colby was driven to get to the peaceful pond. An important hurdle to ford was getting access to the property. That was accomplished with acquisition of additional land, but it took a year to get it.

An area to park was a priority. That was work to clear invasives and decades old, construction debris left behind. “Now we have a parking area; otherwise, there was really no place to park for the preserve,” said Monahan. Altogether, SLT will have a lot that holds six cars.

Once the parking area was established, a group of stewards and board members did a couple of site visits. Monahan said, “We had to hack our way through there. We tried a couple of different paths to get to the pond. Ultimately choose the one with a little more forest along the property line.”

Finally, it was time for the construction of the boardwalks. The design was done to minimize disturbance to the wetlands, Monahan explained. The installation was all done by hand. There was no heavy equipment used. Proper approval from the town’s Inland Wetlands Commission was required and there were also site visits to give the project the okay to proceed.

“The types of wetlands dictated the types of boardwalks you can do,” said Monahan. “Some have to be elevated; some just need to be above muddy ground --there’s no water flow—just muddy ground. The first section we decided to go with an elevated boardwalk over a kind of a wide stream, it’s got a couple of different sections of stream that wind through but it’s not deep.”

First you visit the site, you go out with sticks and string. You put strings across the entire area. It helps to visualize the path and understand the landscape. It ensures the balance is correct. For instance, you would need to add railings if the top of the boardwalk goes over a height of 30-inches. You also use the strings to make sure it is all level. You want to avoid trees and rocks, etc.

We built the frame in sections and moved it in. Then we put the decking on when we were on-site. We cut everything off-site, because it was easier to do.

The construction of the elevated boardwalk took 60 hours with five different stewards. The bog walk, I’d estimate, at 150 hours. The guys worked hard.

For the elevated portions of the boardwalk, Monahan’s crew of stewards put in 10-inch culvert pipes, so the water could flow through. In all, it is 50-feet of elevated boardwalk. On muddy, swampy areas, bog walks were created. “It’s just boards that sit on the 6”x6” pressure treated wood. They are only 6-inches off the ground. Just keeps people out of the mud (and so less erosion and soil disturbance).” Spacing is six feet. This portion runs a total of 200 feet.

This boardwalk is noticeably different from other straight-line boardwalks. The walkway follows the landscape. It meanders and curves. It is aesthetically pleasing, as well as functional. Monahan looked at examples of boardwalks from online sources, like land trusts and builders, and took it from there. The process then was to sit down and design the boardwalk. “I’m old school. It took a couple of days on a drafting board.”

The next phase of the project is to build a bridge. That will be more complicated. It will be higher than 30-inches, so side railing is mandatory, said Pat. That's just basic building code. The span will probably be 15 feet.

The final phase will be the construction of the viewing platform, the observation deck at the pond “There’s already an Eagle Scout signed on for the project,” said Pat.

It’s a huge project. But even now with just the first two sections, it gives you access to the property. You don’t have to beat your way through the barberry.

How does he feel about what’s been done so far? “It’s amazing. It’s beautiful work.”

It’s a relief to take a design and see it work, said Pat laughing, "to get it out of your head and into the ground!”

Southbury Land Trust Stewardship Director Pat Monahan is a mechanical engineer, having recently retired as Vice President of Operations for Thule. Before stepping into the Stewardship Director role, Pat was on the SLT Board of Trustees.