Tags: wetlands

The Fresh Kills site was once a network of waterways with acres of tidal wetlands. When the Fresh Kills Landfill opened in 1948, people did not realize the ecological value of this habitat. Now NYC Parks is transforming the former landfill into Freshkills Park.

Did you know that the month of May is dedicated to celebrating the importance of wetlands? Back in 1991, the EPA and its partners designated May as American Wetlands Month to educate Americans about the value of wetlands as a natural resource.

Last year’s winning project for HUD’s Rebuild by Design competition, New Meadowlands, will be making its first steps toward fruition. In April, the State of New Jersey announced a request for proposals from civil engineering and hydrology firms for a feasibility study, environmental impact statement, professional engineering design, and construction administration services.

Last week, the Freshkills Park Team had the pleasure of meeting with a group of city officials and their consultants from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Addis Ababa’s Repi Solid Waste Disposal Site, a 40 year old open dump, has recently been closed and the City has installed a methane capture and flaring system.

One hundred years ago, forested swamps and tidal wetlands characterized the site that is now becoming Freshkills Park. In 1947 Robert Moses changed all that by designating the spot to be used as a landfill. The original plan of three years of garbage tipping followed by urban development turned into something far more complex, resulting in Fresh Kills gaining the infamous title of world’s largest landfill.

This summer marks the one-year anniversary since the restoration of salt marsh wetlands along Main Creek in North Park. During the spring of 2013, a crew that specializes in ecological restoration completed construction in an area formerly dominated by Phragmites into a successional wetland.