By JOSEPH MODICA
Tree-huggers were out in force along Jamaica Bay on Thursday, the final day of a three-year program to plant trees in an effort to strengthen coastal infrastructure and protect against future storm surges on the same week that Hurricane Sandy decimated New York five years ago
The event, which was organized by The Nature Conservancy, the National Parks Service, and the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, has planted 28,000 trees around the 14-acre refuge overlooking the bay to battle the effects of climate change.
On the first brisk day in an otherwise mild autumn, groups of volunteers took gloves and trowels neatly assorted on a table in front of the welcome center and made their way down a dirt path onto a site designated by 1-foot-tall, bright-orange flags planted into the ground. Volunteers were then shown how to carefully remove the saplings from their pots and place them in holes and how to identify poison ivy, which was prevalent in the area. The saplings was chosen because it’s a salt-tolerant species, it’s generally hardy and that it is already native to New York
The volunteers comprised Bank of America employees as part of their environmental volunteer initiative and students from Academy for Conservation and the Environment and the Science and Medicine middle school who came together to give their time to the battered coastal community which is still recovering five years after the hurricane.
Bank of America volunteer Chris Krolak surfs by Far Rockaway and wanted to give back. “I’ve always seen this area, never really known much about it,” he said. ” So it’s cool for me to get out here to improve the environment I enjoy and take advantage on a regular basis.”
Others echoed the theme.
“Basically to help preserve the environment which is something I’ve always to do” said teacher Naquan Ross, a teacher who who brought out his students to assist. “We’re out here to basically help plant trees and flowers, at the same time teaching [students] what it is like to do habitation for the earth and for the planet.”
Conservationists are hoping for a 50 percent survival rate among the trees they planted, taking in account weather and nutritional factors.
Photo of volunteers planting trees by Joseph Modica
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.