The Paint Mine Conservation Area and the Hennessey's Field Conservation Area together with the conservation land occupied by the Boston Edison easement on the east side of Turning Mill Road and the narrow Burlington Strip Conservation Area along the town line comprise about 46 acres. They form a habitat for deer, foxes, opossum, raccoon, and the eastern coyote as well as many smaller mammals and a wide variety of birds.
The Paint Mine Area is a true museum piece where a visitor can see a nineteenth century ochre mine, the natural pigment from which was utilized to manufacture paint. Boston Edison's powerline right-of-way makes up a large portion of this property, but the majority of the area consists of woodland with vegetation that is more characteristic of northern New England. A tributary of Simonds or Farley Brook originates here, flowing westerly through a maze of manmade ponds before joining the main channel in Tophet Swamp. Access trails run in from Grove Street, Turning Mill Road, Estabrook School's parking area, and Robinson Road.
Because of this property's unique geologic features, a small basin with poor drainage has been created. Sphagnum moss has invaded the perimeter of a series of small ponds that were built in this basin during the 1930s in order to trap muskrats. It is likely that the construction of these ponds destroyed a sphagnum moss bog, for since the abandonment of the ponds in the 1950s, the area seems to be reverting to a bog, its vegetation including water arum, goldthread, sundew, etc..
The adjacent 10 acre Hennessey's Field Area, which was transferred to Conservation in 1999, is mostly an open meadow that is mowed once annually to keep it open. It is heavily used by the Estabrook School as a site for studying ecology and wildlife.
The Simonds Brook area lies just across Grove Street from the Paint Mine area.
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