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Remember going to the Nature Hut at summer camp? It was the gathering place to explore all that was around us. There were towering trees, bramble bushes, dirt paths with tree roots jutting out waiting to trip us, beautiful green moss, salamanders (we tried to catch them, though we didn’t know why), streams and creeks with frogs and toads and turtles (we tried to scoop up tadpoles in old mayonnaise jars), and leeches – and maybe some birds and other wild life.
Have you been back since those long ago days? If you have, you may have had difficulty even finding the Nature Hut. If you did, it was probably covered in wild invasive species and draped with vines. The well-worn dirt paths have disappeared, and you ripped the skin on your arms trying to make your way through the no-longer-familiar territory. Nothing was the same. That land of your childhood was gone.
Nature – natural environments – are not like the old neighborhood of homes and stores and sidewalks. Those old neighborhoods may be the worse for wear and tear over time, but they stay the same until someone actively intervenes. Not so nature. Trees and plants grow, creeks and streams flow where they will, natural foods for some wildlife disappears and so do those who fed there. Food for other species emerges from the earth, and those new species arrive to dine. The natural environment is never static; it is always changing, often losing it’s original beauty and choking what is trying to emerge.
Welcome to the Teaneck Creek Conservancy (TCC)! What we just described is what new Executive Director of the TCC, Kathleen Farley, found when she arrived to take on the huge challenge of “restoring” the beloved TCC. But the challenge she found was even larger than anyone anticipated. She faced two big tasks: 1) Not restoring TCC, but redeveloping it, and 2) Guiding the community who grew up with the old Teaneck Creek and surroundings to accept change.
When Kathleen arrived, TCC was wild and overgrown. Beautiful old trees were dying from within, standing very much on their last legs, wild invasive species encroached on plants and other growth that once fed birds and insects, most of which had disappeared from the local environment. What was once beautiful, had lost its splendor – and most of all, it was not healthy for the environment and the creatures that lived there.
However, when Kathleen arrived, she met with long-time lovers of TCC who pointed out to her, “This is our park; this is where we rode our bikes, this is where we walked our dogs; we don’t want change.”
Kathleen and her team accepted the challenge of re-imagining the park and helping the community accept the changes over time. She emphasizes that the park is to be both beautiful and healthy, both a garden and a special place of conservation. She and others, especially long-time steward George Reskakis, and partners like the Hackensack Riverkeeper, the Audubon Society and the pride of TCC the Puffin Foundation have conducted walks and talks to introduce the new park to the community.
With the grand opening held throughout May 2023 when the new greenery and buds were showing off the park at its best, visitors were introduced to the beautiful new growth and introduced to various conservation measures like rain barrels. TCC is setting up rain barrels to water the gardens including a garden with native plants. There have been talks about the migratory patterns of birds, and the health and biodiversity of new plantings.
As well, joining with their partner the Puffin Foundation, TCC is bringing music and art to the outdoors with jazz concerts and artists invited to paint outdoors.
Now that TCC is on its way, Kathleen and her team want to hear from members of the community: What are people looking for? What do they want? What can TCC bring to them?
One long-time member who loves the park runs a program once a month teaching participants how to document the flora growing in the redeveloped park. She instructs them in the use iNaturalist an App that links photos anyone can post with a large database and a wide membership to identify TCC’s flora and participate in building an extensive data base.
Kathleen tells about one long-time park visitor who expressed her unhappiness that changes were going to be made to the park. Though she agreed it had become unsightly, she initially resisted change. But she recognized – as Kathleen teaches – that the land is always changing and true stewardship requires redevelopment to respond to the natural changes.
This member is now a strong advocate of the new TCC and has documented her thoughts in a flyer available as you enter the Teaneck Creek Conservancy Park. It is called “Park Perspectives: What Happened at Teaneck Creek? Thoughts from a restoration skeptic.”
Teaneck Voices suggests you visit and see what YOU think!
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