The Hills is a master-planned seasonal resort development and golf course proposed by Discovery Land Company, the premier player in the high-end resort residential niche with 20 world-class projects in its portfolio.  Set back behind the farms on approximately 160 acres to the east of Lewis Road, and to the south of Sunrise Highway in East Quogue, the land is currently zoned for residential use, and The Hills development will preserve 424 acres out of a total of 591 acres, or 72% of the land.  An additional 33 acres will be revegetated for a total of 457 acres in a natural state. Ninety-five percent of the land will be kept as open space, with only 5 percent of the land with roads or structures.

There has been much discussion over the past several months regarding this world-class project, including some push back from local residents at town board meetings who do not want to see any changes to the land as it exists now.  Many of these people have not visited the actual property, which has sadly become a sort of dumping zone [KDHamptons shot the photos in this layout last weekend].

So, in an effort to share some exciting information and detailed plans for hiking, bird watching, outdoor activities, and how to clean up the land, the folks at Discovery Land Company have invited Hamptonites to join a hike led by Westhampton Beach teacher, Jok Kommer on Saturday March 25th at 10AM [Enter 50 Spinney Road on your GPS].  Jok has been a high school teacher at Westhampton Beach High School for 29 years, and his specialization in teaching includes Living Systems and his course work has covered Elementary School Science, Chemistry, General Science, General Biology, Regents Biology, Student Research, Forensics, Environmental Science and Marine Science.

Jok originated the “wetlab” programs at WHBHS and built the “wetlab” facility known as “Oikos”. He has taught graduate courses in Google Earth and Local Ecosystems. He is also the sole proprietor of Aquatic Ecology Services since 1998. He is married with six children. Kommer will share his insight on local marine and environmental science with hikers, as we all get in a fun morning work out.  See you there!