Tags: invasive species

Last week, a New York Times article featured the work of one man, Eymund Diegel, and his hydrology studies of the Gowanus Canal. One of the tools he employed was aerial mapping using a helium-inflated balloon with a handheld camera attached.

At Freshkills Park, conquering rapid growing invasive plants is no simple task. For a human it may be daunting manual labor, but for goats and sheep, it’s just lunchtime. Two years ago, Freshkills Park enlisted the assistance of goats with large appetites to clear a portion of phragmites on site.

Susan Mills, an artist who works entirely in artist’s book form in her NYC studio, is working with Freshkills Park on a project to be presented at this year’s Sneak ‘Peak’, on September 28 called UnCommon Pages. On July 19, Susan will lead a group to harvest plants including phragmites, the invasive species on our site (also known as the common reed) to make paper for a bookmaking workshop at our fall festival.

The silver lining to the recent unrelenting cold snap is that many types of invasive insects can’t survive the frigid conditions. These invasive insects include the emerald ash bore, known for killing millions of trees in the last decade, and the gypsy moth, which eats the leaves of trees, such as those used to grow agricultural crops.