A Kingston Peninsula heritage group has acquired 81 hectares (200 acres) of land it hopes to turn into a nature and heritage reserve.

Kingston Peninsula Heritage purchased the parcel of land on Tyng Hill for $500,000, which includes several historic structures and waterfront property.

Hope Hunter, a member of the group’s board of directors, said the goal is to preserve a prime real estate area.

“This is a significant tract of land in a rapidly developing region,” Hunter said.

“We want to make sure it provides recreational opportunities.”

Hunter said the property was originally Glebe land, which was land that supported the vicarage of Trinity Anglican Parish, the oldest Anglican church in the province.

The land then became a farm, which was passed to another family before the heritage group purchased it.

Hunter said the nature preserve will provide public access for recreational boats on the St. Johns River, something she said is lacking in the area.

The plot of land also has several natural features that make it perfect for people wanting to spend time outdoors.

“The property itself is largely forested and, as such, lends itself very well to long hiking, snowshoeing, that sort of thing,” Hunter said.

“The height of the land provides a very pleasant location from which we can provide historical interpretation of the area.”

The property also has several structures the group hopes to take advantage of, including a creekside house, which could be used for arts programming.

“There’s also what we call the Lodge,” Hunter said. “We would like to think about how we could possibly restore this to make it more of a group activity area.”

And at the top of Tyng Hill there is a “small hut to protect yourself from the wind and weather if you are hiking or snowshoeing”.

Hunter said she hopes area residents will help transform the property into something that can be used by residents.

The group is organizing the first of what they hope will be many cleanups of the site on Sunday, from 1 to 4 p.m.

“We plan to organize a management group that can start designing programs and finding the resources we’ll need to deliver the things we want to do.”