How The Bronx is Restoring its Ancient River System into Urban Green Oasis

the bronx is a borough of new york city with a population of 1.4 million people its total area is 57 square miles of which 42 square miles is land and 15 square miles is water the bronx river is 23 miles long and it flows through the heart of the bronx eventually emptying out into the east river starting at kensico dam in upper westchester it is the only entirely freshwater river in new york city up until two centuries ago the bronx river passed through ancient chestnut forests it was rich in biodiversity with beaver eels and abundance of mussels and oysters however as the city and population expanded it went from being a flourishing natural resource to a contaminated conduit of industrial residential waste after experiencing a long period of degradation and pollution it became dirty unsafe and unusable for the community until 20 years ago when a small group of activists decided to turn this around in this video we will show you how 30 million has been invested into cleaning up the bronx river to bring back biodiversity and improve the lives of millions of people who live along the riverside so stick with us as we dive into today's video 300 years ago the bronx river was used as a fishing and hunting ground for indigenous tribes and for fur traders who hunted the plentiful beavers otters wolves bears bison and other animals in the bronx river valley but by the 19th and 20th centuries the river became a natural sewer into which industrial waste was poured every day the group of local activists formed in 1974 and over time their effort gained strength by the late 90s over 60 community organizations were working together committed to reclaiming the river and improving access to the river throughout the bronx since then 30 million dollars have been spent on what's known as the bronx river cleanup which has also expanded to other surrounding programs connecting to the river after decades of restoration work and the continued maintenance by the bronx river conservation crew who clean the waterways regularly removing fallen trees and branches they have managed to restore the riverway habitat by working on bank stabilization erosion control and invasive plant species removal now the river looks naturalistic and there are even a couple of beavers resident in the river again which is a testament to show how effective the restoration is on the river transforming it from an open sewer into a wildlife magnate there are also park spaces for recreation and the bronx river greenway is being established which connects pedestrian cycle paths along the banks of the river with new park areas and trails that run along the full 23 miles of the bronx river which makes it an ideal wildlife corridor for its entire length it's a vital resource for the local residents to access and discover the nature and beauty which was not possible before community involvement has been essential to the success of the bronx river restoration one of the first introductions to the river for the community comes in the form of a river recreation program which consists of free rowing and kayaking for the community members which helps them to experience the river every weekend it's aimed at families schools and young people by incorporating elements of education ecology and ancient traditional values they also conduct programs such as water quality monitoring and stewardship which helps strengthen relations with the bronx community while raising awareness and understanding about the bronx river however the bronx river still faces many challenges and their river alliance groups are still trying to manage and solve these issues such as storm overflow and sewage draining into the river at various points still continues to be a serious problem for the river part of the bronx river cleanup has been experimenting with new ways to install new oyster reefs to clean the water since oysters are good filter feeders they suck in water and any sediment particles contaminants and bacteria these impurities get filtered out of the water by the oysters and are returned to the sediment in attempt to reconstruct oyster reefs to filter the water they have used oyster shells from restaurants in the city and they return them to the sea they are combined with live oysters to populate the empty shells oysters are not only great for water purification but also ecological restoration since they provide homes and habitats for juvenile fish eels and crabs eel populations are another species which have plummeted to a few percent from their historical numbers eels are important because they connect the south bronx to the middle of the atlantic ocean eels spawn far out at sea in the atlantic and they are carried by the gulf stream inland they then swim up the river such as the bronx river to spend their whole lives in fresh water after 10 to 20 years they migrate back to the ocean to spawn and die this demonstrates the important connection between the atlantic ocean and the south bronx river in the overall ecosystem in recent years eels have been making a comeback however waterborne wildlife have a number of barriers to contest with and the effects of dams on inland migration of eels impede their movement in the bronx river they have nine dams in a row to contend with however this particular dam has an eel pass on it an eel pass is a man-made ladder that allows eels to pass over the dam ensuring the eels can complete their migration course and continue to increase their numbers another migratory species that once flourished in the bronx river is the ale wife herring to restore biodiversity 400 ale herring have have recently been released fish that's born in fresh water but live in salt water the bronx river is a perfect corridor for them to make their transition from freshwater to salt water unlike the eels fish ladders have been installed on dams to restore their clear passage the bronx river foodway has also been established and consists of native edible plants and fruits for humans and wildlife to enjoy it is set on the site of a former concrete factory which closed in the 1980s and it was converted into a park after community members protested for it to become a public space with access to the river a foodway is similar to a food forest which is a multi-layered system that mimics a natural ecosystem or a natural forest it has become a place for school groups to take tours and learn about biodiversity and some local residents like to forage since it's a pastime that is good for overall health and well-being the foodway is a pilot project and is a leading example of how public edible gardens can blend into a public landscape like city parks the river now plays a vital role as an outdoor classroom with extensive educational programs for the local community and has become a hub for scientific activity several scientific studies have been conducted on the river including water quality monitoring trash assessments and their newest initiative microplastics analysis or with the goal of using the data they collect to design restoration projects the bronx river restoration is an important example of how a community-led project can have a huge effect on the local area was started as a project to clean and improve water quality has turned into an ecological restoration project bringing back biodiversity and in turn improving the lives of local residents it has become a symbol of how urban blight can be transformed into something beautiful and be accessible to everyone [Music]

Channel: Leaf of Life

Views: 123,172

Keywords: climate change, climate crisis, Water crisis, the bronx, river restoration, green city, biodiversity, rewilding, permaculture, the bronx river, natural based solutions, walkable city, aquifers, population density, beavers, oysters, Water purifiers, new york city, new york, new york city live, new york city tour, new york city vlog, new york drill, climate change solutions, the bronx new york, climate crisis 2022, climate change news, climate change paragraph

Id: emLBXqUXLeg

Length: 7min 44sec (464 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 22 2022