Everglades tree islands made from historic garbage

06.01.11

Maybe the earliest landfill-to-park precedent we’ve come across yet: archeological evidence in southwest Florida indicates that many of the “tree islands” of Everglades National Park—marsh islands supporting terrestrial vegetation—have developed from refuse piles from over 5,000 years ago. Credit for the early landfill operations is given to the now-extinct Calusa tribe, who deposited bones, shells, charcoal, and other ancient garbage in middens upon which they could settle, hunt or fish. Today, the middens have established flora and serve as productive nesting habitat for species such as alligators, birds and Florida panthers.

(via TreeHugger)

Tags: ecology, garbage, history, landfills