Wildflower Woods Wetland Restoration Reveal

Teatown was proud to “reveal” and celebrate the completion of our Wildflower Woods Wetland Restoration Project on July 15, 2021. This multi-year project was the result of a successful collaboration among Teatown stewardship staff, environmental engineering and landscaping professionals, and funders, including the Land Trust Alliance and a generous anonymous donor from the larger Teatown community.

Joined by Town of Ossining Supervisor Dana Levenberg, Town of Yorktown Supervisor Matt Slater, and Mike Weinberg from State Senator Pete Harckham’s staff, Teatown Executive Director Kevin Carter and Director of Science and Stewardship Dr. Danielle Begley-Miller spoke about the importance of the project, and what it means for Teatown moving forward.

 “This was a significant effort that took many years. I love it because it checks a lot of the boxes — it’s a habitat restoration project, but it also elevates the visitors’ experience, the hikers’ experience at Teatown,” Carter said in his remarks.

Town of Ossining Supervisor Dana Levenberg echoed Carter’s sentiment, and spoke about the project’s benefit to the surrounding area.

 “The bottom line is, all of our communities benefit from Teatown and the continuation of learning about environmental stewardship,” Levenberg said.

The Wildflower Woods demonstration area was created to show the effects of white-tailed deer browsing on local forests. The location of the project allows for increased public visibility, but also increased impacts from its proximity to the road. The project reduces the amount of sediment entering Teatown Lake from the main parking lot, restores the sedimented area back into a wetland, and creates a space for educational opportunities. This type of information is important for the public to understand, and educating them about the restoration was something Town of Yorktown Supervisor Matt Slater commented on.

 “Teatown is a wonderful asset for our community here at Yorktown and regionally as well,” Slater said during the event. “The educational components are so important for our children to understand the importance of maintaining this type of environment.”

A sediment catch basin was also installed to collect runoff from the parking lot and filter out dirt and debris. Over 7,000 native plants were planted during the project by Teatown stewardship staff and many wonderful volunteers, who gave their time and energy into seeing this project completed professionally and on-schedule. Teatown is also grateful to Barbara Restaino of Restaino Design Landscape Architecture PC, for helping conceptualize and organize the project. Restaino also attended the reveal event, and said that she looks forward to visiting Teatown often to check on the progress of the plantings and the success of the restoration.

 The Wildflower Woods Restoration Project was made possible by a grant from the Land Trust Alliance and a very generous donation from an anonymous donor within the Teatown community.