Volunteers Needed for Wetland Planting at Cayuga Creek

The RestoreCorp Program will host a volunteer event at Cayuga Creek in the Town of Niagara on Saturday, July 15 from 8:30 a.m. to  12:30 p.m.

Volunteers will utilize hand tools (garden trowels, hori-hori garden tools, and/or drill augers) to install landscape plugs (small container plants) in the wetland areas. There will be approximately 1,600 plants to install, which means each volunteer can expect to plant 50 to 55 plugs during the 4-hour event.

If you are interested in volunteering for this event please register below!

Background– The Cayuga Creek Restoration project is located in the Town of Niagara just south of the Niagara Falls Airport and Air Reserve Station. The project is approximately 30-acres and was donated by Joseph C. Weber, Inc. to the Town. Over many decades, the combination of water pollution, surrounding land use, and creek channel alterations left the creek’s water quality and habitat in an impaired state, and the surrounding community with persistent flooding issues.

Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper spent several years developing an approach to simultaneously restore this wetland habitat, reduce the flooding issues, and connect residents and visitors with this natural waterfront site on Cayuga Creek through a unique trail system. Finally, in Spring of 2022 the Cayuga Creek Stream and Floodplain Restoration project was implemented and is currently the only project in WNY of this kind, seeking to mitigate flooding through channel reconstruction.

Currently, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper is working with the Buffalo Niagara River Land Trust to apply a conservation easement to this land, and acquire an additional 11 acres of undeveloped, high-quality floodplain forest adjacent to the already protected land. Additionally, fundraising is needed to establish a long-term stewardship fund; for maintenance of the site is needed to ensure it is preserved for future generations to enjoy!