FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE03-20
April
29, 2003
Contact:
Ian Michaels
(718) 595-6600
Upstate
And Downstate High School Students Join Together To Plant Over 100 Trees
In Watershed Protection Project
Will Create
Streamside Buffer in Woodstock, NY
Commissioner Christopher O. Ward of the New York City Department of Environmental
Protection announced today that 35 high school students from upstate and
downstate will join forces this Wednesday to create a streamside buffer
zone next to an important water source in the City’s watershed.
Students from Samuel Gompers HS in the Bronx will work with students
from Margaretville Central School and South Kortright Central School to
plant over 100 trees on a piece of land owned by the DEP adjacent to the
Beaver Kill in the town of Woodstock. The Beaver Kill flows into the Esopus
Creek, which in turn flows into the Ashokan Reservoir, a key part of the
City’s Catskill water system.
“The re-establishment of healthy streamside vegetation in the watershed
is vital for long-term water quality protection,” said Commissioner
Ward. “The vegetation filters road runoff and stabilizes the streambank
to limit erosion. The leaves from the trees will also provide food for
the macroinvertebrates and insects that are consumed by trout and other
fish in Catskill streams.
“I’m glad that young people from the different regions are
able to get together to build long-term solutions to protect our water
quality,” Ward said.
SUNY Delhi and DEP AmeriCorps members will provide for site preparation,
including the careful removal of the invasive Japanese Barberry species.
After the site is prepared, the students will plant native trees and shrubs,
including Green Ash, Boxelder, Speckled Alder and Swamp Rose from approximately
11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.
Funding for the educational planting project was provided by the Watershed
Agricultural Council (WAC) Forestry Program and the Catskill Watershed
Corporation (CWC), in partnership with the New York City Department of
Environmental Protection. DEP helps to fund the CWC, the Watershed Agricultural
Council and other programs in the watershed that benefit both the community
and drinking water quality.