Nature Conservancy to Hold Open House at Katharine Ordway Preserve in Weston

The Nature Conservancy will host an open house for the public at its Katharine Ordway Preserve, located at 165 Goodhill Road in Weston, Conn., on June 21. The event, which will honor Ordway’s legacy and celebrate recent clean-up and revitalization of the 62-acre nature preserve, runs from 9 a.m. to noon.
 
Conservancy Land Steward Mark Mainieri will be on hand to welcome visitors, distribute maps and answer questions.

The celebration acknowledges the efforts of a group of dedicated volunteers who have worked alongside Conservancy staff since last fall to clear and reopen trails, remove storm debris from the arboretum and plant new trees. Organized by Westport resident Bob Fatherley, the volunteers – many of whom are members of the Y’s Men of Westport with Fatherley – contributed more than 100 hours of labor and raised over $6,000 towards the restoration.

Named for noted conservation philanthropist and former Weston resident Katharine Ordway, the preserve has over three miles of trails that traverse forest and field and features a specimen arboretum.  A quiet respite, the preserve property was originally part of Ordway’s estate. 

Ordway also was instrumental in helping to create The Nature Conservancy’s Lucius Pond Ordway/Devil’s Den Preserve in Weston and Redding. At 1,756 acres, Devil’s Den is the Conservancy’s largest preserve in Connecticut.

The June 21 open house is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Laura Brownstein at lbrownstein@tnc.org or 203-568-6278.