Thursday, October 27, 2016

Students help the ecosystem of Jamaica Bay


From CBS 2:

It’s a new day for Jamaica Bay. Hundreds of volunteers will spend a week digging in to help shore up the coastline.

As CBS2’s Vanessa Murdock reported, their efforts may make the area more storm-resistant and keep local wildlife thriving.

Over one week, 400 volunteers will shovel the shoreline of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge to make room for 10,000 native trees and shrubs. They’re plant now to create a more resilient coast in the future.

“Our world is changing, sea level is rising. We’re having increased flooding in areas that were drier than before.” Chief of Resource Stewardship, Gateway National Recreation Area, Patti Rafferty said, “Sandy produced a surge of nearly 8.5-ft in Jamaica Bay – caused big problems for the ecosystem.”

Rafferty said the beach was breached. What was a freshwater source for hundreds of species of birds became brackish. Trees were uprooted, plants died, and invasive species took over.

Now, volunteers – led by the National Park Service, Jamaica Bay Rockaway Parks Conservancy, and the Nature Conservancy are taking it back.

They’re making room for natives like juniper and pitch pine.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” -Greek Proverb. Maybe there is hope for the future.

Anonymous said...

FINALLY A POSITIVE STORY ABOUT QUEENS !!

Anonymous said...

Better to help clean up the political ecosystem at city hall.
Flush out the incumbents.
What, if you do not already know what an incumbent is, listen up.
Any two term Councilmember that has made a comfortable seat there for his or her ass.
Flush your toilet. Flush your incumbents!

Liman said...

Very nice. Clean, good. But don't kid yourself. It will all be gone in the next storm.. because that's nature.

Anonymous said...

It's a shame that the National Parks can't do this work. They can't even keep the shoreline by the bridge clean much less enforce the law. Thanks for your hard work kids.

Anonymous said...

“Our world is changing, sea level is rising. We’re having increased flooding in areas that were drier than before.” Chief of Resource Stewardship, Gateway National Recreation Area, Patti Rafferty said"

Sea level rising? Did she ever hear of erosion? Pseudoscience at its best/worst.

JQ LLC said...

Good for them, but for Broad Channel to survive it's going to take more than kids and a feel good documentary to bring attention to it. If this area was as familiar as the rocky mountains or yellowstone it would probably get the professional work it really needs/

Although with world wide temps breaking consecutive monthly records the peninsula is going to need significant growth of these wetlands.

Has anyone notice how high the waters are by the A train bridges?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said: "It's a shame that the National Parks can't do this work"

They (National Parks) won't get off their fat asses to do ANY work. They sit in that visitor center slurping coffee and belching platitudes about what wonderful people they are, caring for the environment yadda yadda yadda...