Character Zones

In the right conditions, shifting slopes and changes in canopy coverage makes for a more engaging trail experience. The steep east facing slope and wet area bisect the two properties acts as a border between Flynt Park and Keep Homestead. Enhancing this area to be more passable will help make the two properties feel more like one landscape.

C hara CT er Z ones

The project site can be broken up into seven distinct character zones based on the dominant physical factors and the human experience within and between them.

Active Recreation

The northeast portion of the site is used frequently and its boundaries are well defined as they are home to active recreation in the form of baseball, soccer, and disc golf. Separating this area from the higher elevation forest is a band of very steep slopes running north to south that divide this part of the site.

Young Forest

To the west and at higher elevation, is a less frequented zone of young forest with a low canopy. Offering a sunnier and more exposed feeling, this zone is distinctly different from the closed canopy forests which border it on all sides.

Remote Forest

The most westerly zone is very infrequently used and is home to fewer trails, more mature forests, and generally more gentle slopes. Farther from the points of entry and with fewer amenities and signs of human use, it can be characterized as more of a remote forest. More organized trails through this zone could be part of a future project.

Older Forest

Because of marked trails, users are able to clearly navigate the older forest, though it is strenuous in sections. With signs of past human land use like stone walls and quarries, it feels like it was once working land.

Agricultural Land

Given the gradual slopes, shifting character, trail markings and similar vegetation, the forest transitions in a seamless way to a zone of working lands in the form of three large hayfields and a community garden bordered by the road. Sunny, exposed, and agricultural, this zone is distinct yet it feels tied to its neighboring zones.

Wet and Soggy

Bordered by the active zone to the north, steep slopes to the west, and private residence to the east, defining the boundary between the northeastern portion of the site and the residential area is an area characterized by wetness. Soggy conditions, moss, running and standing water, and wetland plants with interspersed trails contribute to this area feeling distinct.