Go take a hike.  Help preserve the South Avenue Bluebelt

Save Graniteville Swamp.  Join us.  

Wetlands serve as the lungs of the planet.  The greenery that grows there absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen.  The soil filters pollutants and roadway runoff which protects the life of the harbor from harm.  Bacteria in the soil and the water can break down toxins, protecting animals and fish as well as people who live in the area and surrounding communities.  These marshes and forests serve as a sanctuary for the wildlife that refreshes and enriches us all.

Open space areas absorb rain and recharge groundwater supplies.  Natural areas drain through springs that run into streams which form rivers and eventually lead to the sea.  In order to develop many parts of Staten Island, these streams were diverted to culverts; concrete pipes or channels.  Natural pathways can  rise or expand to handle the unusually large volumes of water that occur during heavy storms  The fixed capacity of culverts can lead to the disastrous consequences recently seen during storms Irene and Sandy.  Many communities on the Island have seen runoff end up in intersections or their basements as a result of the thoughtless development all too common in our neighborhoods.

Last Gasp for Nature?

Graniteville Swamp is a natural area with 45 acres of salt marsh, open marsh and upland swamp forest.  It connects existing drainage areas between South Avenue and along the Arthur Kill to Goethals Bridge Pond Park Preserve, Mariners Marsh and Arlington Marsh as well as the small, existing Graniteville Swamp Parks.  This corridor drains, preserves and protects the West Shore of Staten Island from the Outerbridge shore lands to the Kill Van Kull.  There are plans to fill and raise the property to build a commercial strip anchored by a big-box store.  We cannot let that happen.

Critical Conservation Area

Through inertia, politics, and limited governmental resources this area has never been adequately protected even though it has been identified by numerous governmental and not-for-profit agencies as crucial for the well-being of the local environment as well as the residents of the area.

Bluebelts are natural areas that have been identified as being most beneficial to the community if left in their existing state.  Seen mostly on the East Shore and South Shore, they have proven to drain and protect surrounding areas more efficiently than for any of man-made construction.  Nature always wins and asks only to be left alone.  Forested land cools surrounding communities, decreases wind speed and pollution.  These spaces function as an aesthetic amenity for the surrounding community.

The Natural Resources Group of the NYC Parks Department, The Trust for Public Land, The Audubon Society as well as the Harbor Estuary Program all agree this is a space deserving of conservation and restoration.

10 AM Saturday, March 18.Those Who Care Will All Be There.

Come take a walk along South Avenue bordering this unique area.  Naturalists from environmental groups will be there to describe the features of the site and options to ensure its survival.

Enter 534 South Ave on your GPS.  Bring a snack.  Bring a friend.  Make new ones.

 Email: nrpa2@aol.com, or go to nrpa.com, or siprotectors.org

Resources

Feel free to contact other officials. Even if you live beyond the North Shore, you share these concerns.

Join us March 18th. Bring a friend.