By: Maya Ray, 2024 Long Island Sound Study Intern
Concrete Plant Park in the Bronx, New York, established in 2009, demonstrates both the contrast and harmony that can exist among people, industry, and nature. The park, located at the site of a once neglected and derelict concrete facility, was abandoned from 1987–2000 until the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and Bronx River Alliance, filled with artistic vision, turned the area into a flourishing green space. In 2017, New York City’s only public edible food forest, The Bronx River Foodway, was established on site. Populated with edible and medicinal plants, its biodiversity sharply contrasts the park’s remaining concrete structures.
Through support from the inaugural round of the Long Island Sound Community Impact Fund, the Long Island Sound Study and Restore America’s Estuaries awarded the Bronx River Alliance $48,951 to engage and educate the Bronx River community in the restoration and protection of Long Island Sound at Concrete Plant Park.
Journei Bimwala, artist in residence for the Bronx River Alliance, was born in the Congo and raised worldwide. She has been living in the Bronx since 1997 and draws much of her artistic inspiration from the environment, dabbling in dance, fashion, drawing, and painting.
“Nature is all about creativity, art, and healing,” said Bimwala. “That’s me, 1000%.”
Bimwala, in addition to being an artist, is a clinical herbalist and foraging practitioner. She often uses native plants as a public education tool drawing in anyone from amateur herbalists to the curious through workshops where Bronx residents can learn how to harvest, prepare, and eat plants from the Foodway.
According to The Bronx River Alliance, the Foodway is the only public place within New York City where foraging can be done without incurring a fine. Many community members use the edible plants, while also taking on jobs managing and maintaining the area. The Foodway has become a hub for locals to build meaningful relationships with the land, and with each other. Residents have the opportunity to grow their own plants at the site, and forage from natives like elderberry, chestnut trees, echinacea, black raspberries, and various fungi. Once completed, The Bronx River Alliance intends for the Foodway to span 23 miles, extending the length of the Bronx River.
“I specifically focus on edible and medicinal plants that you can forage, where I get to connect people to nature, back to the land, and giving people back what was always theirs to begin with,” said Bimwala. “We all have a responsibility to nature, just like nature has a responsibility to all of the species of this planet.”
Through activities at the park and expanding the foodway, the Bronx River Alliance aims to build a stronger community connection and sense of duty to the waterway and Long Island Sound. This will be done by using public stewardship events, accessible educational programs, and public outreach on social media. The goal is to educate more than 200 members of the community, while also getting people interested in the protection and stewardship of not only the park, but other areas along the Bronx River as well.
Bimwala also notes the importance of green spaces historically, as a lack of access to them has had disproportionate effects on marginalized communities.
“We learned during the pandemic that Black folks have one of the worst health statuses in the country,” said Bimwala. “Why is that? We were no longer able to practice our own healing arts. We lost access to nature… My work is to take a stab at that injustice and give people back access to nature freely with no restriction and also have people realize that nature is not the enemy. Nature is your ally. Nature is your foundation.”
The park has many facilities for communal use, such as entrances for extended community access, a shared garden, and a reading circle. The Bronx River, which feeds into the Long Island Sound, is next to the park and is an important asset to the community, used for kayaking, crabbing, and fishing. The Bronx River Alliance hosts free community paddling events every other Friday, letting people engage in no cost fun on the waterfront. Other engagement events also include “Gardening Tuesdays” and “Community Fridays”, where people can learn how to be stewards of the river, forage freely, and build relationships with their neighbors.
“People will take care of the land better, because now it has a meaning for them.” said Bimwala.
There are plans to establish a meadow within the park, building habitat for diverse wildlife, while also adding aesthetic value. Determined to create a safe, clean, accessible Bronx River for all, the alliance hopes to continue inspiring people to create their own unique relationship with the outdoors, and protect it for years to come.
“It won’t happen in our time, but it can happen for the future generation. It can happen for folks 15, 50, even 100 years from now, and that’s perfectly fine, “ said Bimwala. “ But in order for us to give that back to the state that nature gave it to us, we need to start doing the work now.”
This summer, twelve high school students were overseen by Will Perret, Senior Coordinator of Audubon Connecticut and Connecticut’s Coastal Stewardship specialist, as they stewarded two natural areas along the Connecticut coast.
“We like to try and connect them to the different facets of conservation work,” said Perret. “You know, it’s not all just being out in the field, sitting at a table for outreach or doing data collection. There’s the policy work, there’s communications, there’s graphic and media design, there’s education.”
With support from a 2022 Long Island Sound Futures Fund grant of $249,989, Audubon Connecticut is encouraging young adults from schools in underserved areas to explore conservation careers. Through partnerships with local public school districts, students are employed as WildLife Guards, Salt Marsh Stewards, and college-level crew leaders. The program has been running yearly since it was first funded in 2016 by a LISFF grant of $34,997.
“I’m so glad that there is a position like this, so I could explore my different options,” said Natalie Romero, a student Wildlife Guard.
The 2022 grant is funding the program at two sites in Stratford, Connecticut at Long Beach and Great Meadows Marsh.
Long Beach is a popular recreational site spanning roughly 1.5 miles. The area, in addition to being a hot spot for fishing, birding, and other beach activities, is also a valuable nesting location for multiple bird species including piping plovers and least terns. A section of the beach also includes a marsh where 42 dilapidated cottages once stood, posing as environmental hazards until their $1.14 million dollar removal in 2011, which included a $233,000 contribution from the Futures Fund. The land the cottages were built on is directly adjacent to the primary nesting area on the beach, which is separated from marshy areas by a single road.
At Long Beach, Wildlife Guards encouraged locals to be a “good egg,” pledging to make bird-conscious decisions when visiting the beach. Guards could also be found westward scouting out bird populations. By recording species type and the number of sightings, students were able to track how many and which types of birds are using Long Beach as a nesting spot.
Great Meadows Marsh, a part of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, was once over 1,400 acres of land. It has since been downsized by more than half, due to excavation, invasive species colonization, and sea level rise. The marsh is an important site for fish, crabs, migratory birds, and endangered species like the salt marsh sparrow and marsh pink flower. A joint effort to restore 34 acres of the marsh was launched in 2019, resulting in reduced mosquito populations, the return of native plants, and greater biodiversity. The restoration of the marsh has been the result of collaborative volunteer efforts in group plantings and trash cleanups. According to Perret, around 175,000 plants have been hand planted by Audubon Connecticut staff, volunteers, and contractors.
At Great Meadows, the WildLife Guards were responsible for planting multiple native plants in barren areas of the marsh. Today, the plants can be seen repopulating the once-empty areas. They also performed routine watering of plants and cleaned up debris within or directly outside of the marsh area, occasionally helping a wayward diamondback terrapin turtle across the road.
“It’s so shocking to see how there was absolutely nothing out here, and now look at it.” Ruthie Lopez, a WildLife Guard. “Even in one ecosystem, there’s so much stuff going on.”
These spirited high schoolers worked diligently to nurture plant and animal biodiversity through fieldwork and informed beachgoers about the importance of protecting sensitive species in high traffic areas, encouraging people to “share the shore”.
“Trying to ultimately change hearts and minds in the long run, that’s the goal.” said Perret.
A riparian buffer zone in Capozzi Park, located in Bridgeport, CT. Photo by Maya Ray.
A natural buffer planted next to the boys and girls club. Photo by Maya Ray.
Over the next year, the Aspetuck Land Trust, with $236,000 in support from the Long Island Sound Futures Fund, will plant thirty buffer plantings spanning over 6,300 square feet in Bridgeport, CT.
Bridgeport, the most populous city in the state, boasts 24 miles of Long Island Sound waterfront. However, extensive urban development has encroached on its natural wetlands, and the increase in paved surfaces has intensified stormwater runoff, leading to local flooding during heavy rainfall and storm surges. To address these issues, permanent vegetative buffers will be planted along the city’s waterways to prevent erosion, reduce flooding, and improve water quality. Buffers will feature native plants, such as goldenrod, juniper, and penstemon, which offer many advantages, including greater resilience and more biodiversity.
While buffers filter pollution from lands near waterways flowing to the Sound, they can also function as a tool for community outreach–providing an opportunity for individuals to join together and make Bridgeport greener.
“Your house is not going to stop flooding because you have these buffers… but if everyone does it, you get to inch together,” said Reggy Saint Fortcolin, conservation manager for the Aspetuck Land Trust. “Building a community around green consciousness is more the aim, with buffers being the bridge. If everyone implements a little bit more green, it works.”
Bridgeport has the least amount of tree canopy in Connecticut at 17-19 percent, according to Saint Fortcolin. But the buffer project will increase the amount of natural cover by up to 5 percent.
Twenty of the buffers will be located in community neighborhoods, while the remaining ten will be planted near restaurants and construction areas. Saint Fortcolin hopes the effort will inspire residents to do their part in protecting the environment of Bridgeport and Long Island Sound. Increasing environmental literacy and changing behaviors on a local scale is what keeps the project’s momentum strong.
“My job is about taking all the anxiety out,” said Saint Fortcolin. “My job is not to create more environmentalists. If you become a doctor, you put a community garden in your backyard. If you’re a plumber, we hope that you have some herbs on your windowsill. That’s our aim… We want this to be a part of your life.”
There are challenges, however, of meeting community needs while planning work in an urban space. According to Saint Fortcolin, getting people to engage with green spaces is the first step. Through participation in community events, the land trust is hoping to reach people of all occupations and ages.
“Education, conservation and community is what uplift people, but a lot of my conversations are about even getting them there,” said Saint Fortcolin.
One project partner is the Wakeman Boys and Girls club, where children participate in “Wildlife Wednesdays” that explore topics like water testing and hydro farming. In-person demonstrations of the buffers in action are helping students to understand the importance of taking care of the local environment. In the future, the land trust hopes to build on the momentum and relationships formed during the buffer project to expand its outreach.
“If three people in the neighborhood have flooding, and three people are working together, they make a little buffer connection and they’re like, hey, this is our little strip, we all connect,” said Saint Fortcolin.
Shellfish are a staple part of Long Island Sound’s culture, playing a key role in recreational fishing, resident livelihoods, and are a star attraction of many beloved restaurants along the Sound’s coast. With the help of the Collective Oyster Recycling and Restoration (CORR), a recently launched non-profit, inventive efforts to recycle and restore shellfish are underway, allowing diners to help restore shell beds one five-gallon bucket at a time.
Oysters rely on the shells of their companions for reproduction. The “babies”, called spats, require hard surfaces to grow on. While they can grow on rocks, ceramics, and other solid materials, their favorite place to mature is on the old shells of other oysters, due to the added protection from predators. When more shells are available for them to latch on to, the survivability of the young oysters increases. With support from a $99,880 Long Island Sound Community Impact Fund grant, CORR is working with local restaurants to increase oyster populations along the shore.
Co-founders Tim Macklin, Todd Koehnke, and Eric Victor stay hands-on through every step of the shell recycling process.
“It’s a lot of time commitment, but we but we love it, said Koehnke. “We wouldn’t have picked anything else to do.”
Over 500,000 pounds of oysters have been recycled since CORR’s start in 2023. With hopes to recycle an additional 300,000 pounds next year, this massive restoration effort to bring shell beds back to the Sound is just getting started.
Increasing the area of shell beds in Long Island Sound is also important for crustaceans, small invertebrates, and fish populations, which use the beds as hunting grounds or shelter. Increased oyster populations also help keep the Sound’s waters cleaner, filtering out algae, as well as excess nutrients in the water, such as nitrogen from inland runoff. A single mature oyster can filter around 50 gallons of water a day. With the help of oyster recycling programs, waters all along the coast can have better water quality and more biodiversity.
“So overall, the more oysters you have in Long Island Sound, it’s just going to benefit it, and help keep it a healthy and clean environment,” said Macklin.
Recycled shells are being supplied by restaurants across the state. When people dine, they are encouraged to place used oyster shells in CORR buckets that line tables. Eateries then collect the oyster shell waste and prepare it in five-gallon buckets for transport to the recycling facility. CORR vehicles pick up the shells and take them to the recycling facility, where they are thoroughly cleaned and left to cure and sanitize for six months. While in the curing process, they are decontaminated by the sun and weather, while insects and wildlife remove any leftover residue. This ensures that the shells are bacteria-free and safe to reintroduce to the Sound.
“And the neat thing is, we step back with the pile [of shells] and we’re like, humans ate all of those, every one of these touched someone’s plate,” said Koehnke.
By tabling at events, and even hosting oyster festivals, CORR is hoping to draw attention to the importance of shellfish recycling. The non-profit also partners with the Sound School in New Haven, helping them with a living shoreline project using reef balls by lending them cured shells.
CORR members are also part of the Fairfield Shellfish Commission and the Mill River Wetlands Committee. Involvement in these groups has improved outreach efforts across the state and created more opportunities for connecting with key groups, including students. As more and more people learn about and engage in oyster recycling, CORR plans to incorporate educational programming into its work.
“Everybody loves to get their hands dirty and actually see things,” said Macklin. “It’s one thing to talk about stuff, but when you can actually physically see it, I think it engages people a lot more.”
In addition to creating education and engagement opportunities, the success of the project has CORR looking to collaborate with more restaurants, expanding into more counties in Connecticut. They have already established themselves in nine counties spanning from Greenwich to Guilford. They also partner with Southington and Hartford in central Connecticut. Future efforts will expand eastward toward Stonington.
“We need to prove our record here on the big stage, so we’re hoping that just comes in time,” said Macklin.
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