BELL’S POND CONSERVATION PROPERTY · SPRING 2026
A shared landscape plan for conservation, affordable housing, and public access in Greenport and Livingston, New York.
Explore the design143 ACRES / ONE CONNECTED LANDSCAPE
The collaborative project for Columbia Land Conservancy brought together conservation, affordable housing, public access, and community needs across the approximately 143-acre property. Columbia Land Conservancy planned to retain about 110 acres for conservation while transferring portions to Trillium Community Land Trust and Habitat for Humanity for housing.
Investigations of wetlands, hydrology, soils, geology, slopes, vegetation, habitat succession, and circulation informed where housing and trails could connect while protecting sensitive areas. Looking beyond parcel boundaries, the framework treats conservation and affordable housing as complementary parts of a resilient landscape, with shared opportunities for restoration, gathering, and long-term stewardship.
ARRIVAL + COMMUNITY
Shaded parking, restrooms, natural play, and a pavilion create a welcoming starting point for the trail network. The pavilion provides a place for educational programming and gathering, connected to the surrounding meadow paths.
Concept design · Selected highlights from Finding Common Ground, The Conway School, Spring 2026.
SITE INVESTIGATIONS / HISTORY + CONTEXT
Our investigation traced the site’s history from Indigenous use and stewardship through colonial settlement, farming, orchards, and the unfinished baseball-camp development. The timeline connects these changes with the fields, successional woodland, and infrastructure found on the site today.
Reading that history alongside vegetation, soils, and drainage helped identify opportunities for restoration, reuse of existing infrastructure, and public access. It grounds the design in the landscape’s cultural and ecological context.
Creek + floodplain
Successional woodland
Grassland habitat01 / SITE ANALYSIS
Mapping existing vegetation reveals the relationship between successional woodland, open fields, wetlands, and disturbed ground. These patterns guide where restoration and access can work together.
02 / TRAIL + STRUCTURE DESIGN
The bridge and observation deck brings visitors closer to the creek through a crossing designed for accessible circulation. Fixed seating and spaces for mobility devices invite people to pause together, while the defined route limits disturbance to sensitive ground.
03 / HABITAT + HUMAN EXPERIENCE
An elevated approach and screened observation space give the trail a destination. The sketch studies how a small structure can frame views and concentrate visitor activity at the habitat edge.
FROM SITE READING TO DESIGN
The selected work shows how analysis can shape an overall plan, and how focused sketches can test the details that make a landscape useful and memorable.