IN SPRING 2027, WE’RE WELCOMING NORWALK BACK TO MANRESA FOR THE FIRST TIME IN nearly 75 YEARS WITH 28 ACRES OF Revitalized FORESTS, OPEN GRASSLANDS, AND SAFE NEW trails.
As the first publicly accessible phase of Manresa Wilds, the Northern Forest is designed to allow safe access to the forest while simultaneously advancing the goals of soil remediation and habitat enhancement.
The concept plan organizes the site around three main “forest pockets”—Eco, Gather, and Learn—each offering a distinct experience with flexible spaces for exploration, gathering, and reflection.
These pockets are connected by 1.15 miles of newly planted walking trails, intended to create safe access to important forest resources while preserving and fortifying their natural beauty. Our plan for the Northern Forest prioritizes ecological restoration and public access simultaneously. Careful restoration efforts will address health and safety risks to visitors and wildlife alike, paving the way for future opening phases that will create a vibrant, healthy community park.
The Northern Forest will be accessible through a redesigned entrance off Longshore Avenue, with no more than 50 on-site parking spots, a turn-around loop for visitors, bike racks, bathrooms, and a drinking fountain and water bottle station. A bus stop, serviced by the Norwalk Transit District will sit at the entrance, giving visitors of all ages an easy way to reach the forest without relying on private vehicles.
Eco
The Eco Pocket is a 1-acre diverse meadow pocket at the center of the Northern Forest. Visitors can look forward to sweeping grasses, seasonal wildflowers, and the quiet movement of birds and pollinators that thrive in this mix of wet and dry meadow conditions. Subtle topographical changes create different areas of light and moisture, shaping a landscape that shifts throughout the year.
The Eco Pocket offers a peaceful space to explore, pause, and observe. This is a place to bird watch, walk a path with a friend, or relax under a beautiful shade structure. It invites everyday connection to the natural character of Manresa Wilds and gives visitors a welcoming place to enjoy the simple beauty of the meadow.
Learn
The Learn Pocket is a .2 acre "coastal classroom" offering outdoor educational space and breathtaking views out to the harbor, framed by a diverse mix of maritime plantings. Featuring a picnic area and outdoor classroom, this pocket creates a quiet, open overlook where visitors can engage with the landscape and water in a more intentional way.
This pocket gives school groups, neighbors, and visitors a place to sit, observe, and explore coastal ecology up close. Designed to support education, it brings a thoughtful, purposeful layer to the Northern Forest.
Gather
The Gather Pocket creates a warm, open clearing within the forest where visitors can come together in a simple, natural setting. The northern side features a lifted hammock grove beneath a light canopy of trees, offering a playful place to rest, read, or take in the quiet of the woods. To the south, a flexible meadow space can be mowed for small events, neighborhood activities, or informal gatherings, giving the community room to spend time together outdoors.
Designed as a welcoming, low-key destination, the Gather Pocket supports everyday use by residents and school groups and offers a relaxed place to meet, move, and enjoy the evolving landscape of Northern Forest.
Eco
The Eco Pocket is a 1-acre diverse meadow pocket at the center of the Northern Forest. Visitors can look forward to sweeping grasses, seasonal wildflowers, and the quiet movement of birds and pollinators that thrive in this mix of wet and dry meadow conditions. Subtle topographical changes create different areas of light and moisture, shaping a landscape that shifts throughout the year.
The Eco Pocket offers a peaceful space to explore, pause, and observe. This is a place to bird watch, walk a path with a friend, or relax under a beautiful shade structure. It invites everyday connection to the natural character of Manresa Wilds and gives visitors a welcoming place to enjoy the simple beauty of the meadow.
Learn
The Learn Pocket is a .2 acre "coastal classroom" offering outdoor educational space and breathtaking views out to the harbor, framed by a diverse mix of maritime plantings. Featuring a picnic area and outdoor classroom, this pocket creates a quiet, open overlook where visitors can engage with the landscape and water in a more intentional way.
This pocket gives school groups, neighbors, and visitors a place to sit, observe, and explore coastal ecology up close. Designed to support education, it brings a thoughtful, purposeful layer to the Northern Forest.
Gather
The Gather Pocket creates a warm, open clearing within the forest where visitors can come together in a simple, natural setting. The northern side features a lifted hammock grove beneath a light canopy of trees, offering a playful place to rest, read, or take in the quiet of the woods. To the south, a flexible meadow space can be mowed for small events, neighborhood activities, or informal gatherings, giving the community room to spend time together outdoors.
Designed as a welcoming, low-key destination, the Gather Pocket supports everyday use by residents and school groups and offers a relaxed place to meet, move, and enjoy the evolving landscape of Northern Forest.
The Northern Forest is being transformed from a fragmented coastal woodland into a healthy, layered forest habitat—the kind of ecosystem once common across Connecticut and the Northeast.
Shaped by decades of industrial use, the site has proven remarkably resilient. But native biodiversity has suffered: the existing birch canopy lacks an understory layer, and invasive species like Autumn Olive, Japanese Stiltgrass, and Phragmites dominate the groundcover, threatening the system's long-term health. While the birch canopy will last only about two more decades, the restoration now underway will set the stage for a diverse, climate-adaptive forest that supports wildlife well into the future.
The restoration plan removes invasive species and establishes native plant communities across multiple layers—from groundcover to shrub to canopy. Ten distinct planting communities have been developed based on over two years of ecological assessment, each tailored to the site's dynamic conditions of sunlight, hydrology, and soil. The trail system frames this work: intensive restoration along pathways creates robust buffers, while targeted enhancements deeper in the woodland protect sensitive areas. Throughout the forest, the three "pockets"—Eco, Gather, and Learn— allow visitors to sprawl out and connect with nature while the ecosystem heals around them.
