Hackensack Riverkeeper Helps Out
On Mitzvah Day
Partners with UJA Federation volunteers to rid Staib
Park of invasive plant species
By Hugh M. Carola
The focus of this year's volunteer effort on November 5 was Staib Park in Hackensack and our recently-completed streambank restoration project along Coles Brook. Our thirty volunteers, ranging from kindergarteners to senior citizens came from as far away as Wayne, NJ and Chestnut Ridge, NY and as close as Tenafly and River Edge. After a quick orientation and getting everyone set with the proper tools, we spent three hours removing trash and pulling Mugwort from the along the banks of the brook.
The 319(h) program provides federal dollars to the states in order to pay for projects designed to minimize or mitigate nonpoint-source pollution originating on public property like city parks. The designation refers to the section of the Clean Water Act (Section 319(h)) that deals with such pollution. Under a restoration plan we developed in partnership with TRC Omni Environmental, pavement was removed, vegetated swales were constructed to hold stormwater and a host of native plant species were reintroduced to the banks along Coles Brook. The north side of the park now looks much different than it did before we got to work and today the park is a place where nature and recreation coexist better than ever before. Earlier this year, the project was declared complete by the DEP. While the job is done, stewardship remains a priority. We continue to monitor the progress of the native plants, conduct cleanups at the park and with the help of good folks like our Mitzvah Day Volunteers, we'll be sure to keep the recovery of Coles Brook on track. Staib Park is located at the north end of Hackensack, at the intersection of Summit Avenue and Coles Avenue. We hope you will visit and see all that's been accomplished. |
For the second year in a row, Hackensack Riverkeeper took
part in the annual Mitzvah Day sponsored by the United Jewish Appeal (UJA)
Federation of Northern New Jersey. Mitzvah is a Hebrew word that means
"blessing" or "good work" and a Mitzvah Day is a time for
Jews and others to spend time in the service of others and in service to our world.
Last year's Hackensack Riverkeeper Mitzvah Day project took place at the
Mehrhof Pond Nature Trail in Little Ferry. Over fifty volunteers helped reopen
the Trail which had gotten seriously overgrown.
To most people, most plants seem harmless enough but alien
species like Porcelain Berry and Japanese knotweed and hyper-adaptable natives
like Mugwort have the tendency to overgrow an area and crowd out other plant
species. When that happens, diversity is lost and the local environment
suffers. Back in 2001, Hackensack Riverkeeper recognized that problem and
applied for a 319(h) grant from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) to fund a project that would deal with that problem as well as the
contaminated runoff that was flowing off of the parking lots and playing fields
into the brook with every rain.