The Fountain Avenue Landfill, near the JFK International airport in Brookyln, has been turned into a 400-acre nature preserve, writes The New York Times. With USD 200 million in funds from the US EPA, Fountain Avenue Landfill is now a preserve that offers panoramic views of NYC amid 33,000 newly planted trees and shrubs. To restore the area’s native habitat, the EPA funded covering the toxic earth with a plastic layer and new soil. While the site is not yet open and still listed as a toxic waste site, the air is “clean and fresh,” according to The New York Times. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said the project could open to the public by next spring.
The idea for turning a noxious landfill into a nature preserve filled with trees came from Leslie Sauer, a founder of Andropogon Associates, a sustainable landscape architecture firm (see an interview with Jose Alminana from Andropogon and his talk on the Sustainable Sites initiative). Sauer had been working as a consultant on the Fresh Kills park project. Based on her experiences with other landfill-to-park projects, Sauer concluded that trees could be planted on top of plastic sheeting if there was enough soil. “Three feet of soil on top of the landfill cap would hold more moisture, allowing a wider array of plants to grow. Even trees. The common wisdom was never to put trees on a landfill because the roots would push down and puncture the cap.”
Sauer found that networks of tree roots would ”do a better job of holding the soil together against erosion than plain grass, and the result might be a sustainable ecology instead of a monotonous grassy hill that required continuous lawn care.” The former landfill now includes a variety of ecological “niches.” “Some resemble the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Others drew inspiration from Sandy Hook, N.J., and Fire Island.” Beginning in 2004, shrubs and trees were planted at a density of 800 to 1,000 per acre, and most preservered. “More than 93 percent of the trees and shrubs have survived.” The new nature preserve is also now attracting wildlife, including a range of birds.
Lee Shelley, who heads the Starrett City neighborhood group that has been pushing for a clean-up of the site for almost twenty years, told The New York Times: “You can probably compare it with a day in the Alps. We had hoped we would have a park. It’s turned out to be better than a park.” Shelley hopes to see an amphitheater, bicycle paths, and fishing areas in a few years.
Read the article and view slideshow
Image credit: Uli Seit, The New York Times
Also a nice radio report on WNYC about the landfills a couple years ago; the most interesting bit might be this:
Thanks for posting this here. Another environmental benefit of urban trees:
“Sauer found that networks of tree roots would ”do a better job of holding the soil together against erosion than plain grass, and the result might be a sustainable ecology instead of a monotonous grassy hill that required continuous lawn care.””
The problem with trees on landfill isn’t puncturing of the liner but rather the problem created by wind damage. As as the trees mature they are more easily felled in strong winds due to the inherent instability between the liner and cover soils. Liners have been improved over time to reduce slippage and to to help to provide stability between the different materials but wind throw is likely to continue to be a problem especially on the typically steep sideslopes of most landfills. Exposure of the liner can result in degradation of the liner as it is designed to be covered and can result in costly repairs, particularly when the area is now heavily revegetated and difficult to access.
I am definitly for the revegation of landfill with trees and shrubs appropriate to the site conditions but just want to make sure that the issues that will likely arise over time are anticipated.
From 1000-dka Natural Preserve to Expensive Land-waste
It is funny how in Bulgaria, exactly on the Black Sea side, near the Balcik Airport one beautiful and protected wild natural field became an Expensive Recycle Bin.
There were many wild animals there like: Hinds, Tortoises, Snakes, Rabbits, Jackals, Lizards, Weasels and many, many different birds (protected or not).
There were also many wild plants (protected and not).
In General it was very unique place for Natural Preserve, it was included in Natura 2000 protected zones, but one of the Famous US Design Companies in which are working US Landscape Architects graduated in Prestigious US Colleges (without even to have remorse) with the kind cooperation of the Bulgarian Government and few investors have turn it into a moon land, which suppose to become a Luxury Golf Course in the distant future. And they call this Sustainable Development.
In General there are not many places left like this in Europe.
I do not believe that this can happen in USA too, but nobody knows.