The Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust (DNRT) has announced it will be officially opening the new Dodge Reserve on Thursday, June 20.

A brief opening ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. All are welcome to this opening event. 

Though only now becoming officially open to the public, the 27-acre Dodge Reserve was donated to DNRT by Lydia Dodge in 1982.

Buttonwood Brook is a defining feature of the reserve, which has two trails.

Members of the public will be able to explore an old dam that was used to hold back the waters of the brook to create an ice pond, as well as the old foundations of ice houses.

It is a complex habitat of uplands and wetlands that includes a cattail marsh and a deciduous floodplain forest. Wetland plants such as the spicebush, alder, royal fern, and jack-in-the-pulpit line the southern portion of the property.

Animals of note include the swamp sparrow and the white-eyed vireo.