tivoli lake preserve stewardship 2

8/14/2019 Tivoli Lake Preserve Stewardship 2

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Tivoli Lake Preserve

The Tivoli Lakes Preserve in theArbor Hill section of Albany, NewYork is an outstanding example ofurban green space. It issignificant as a nature sanctuarythat despite abuse from

surrounding nuisances and byactivities in the past has beenable to preserve its beauty. Itprovides solitude and recreationfor citizens wishing to take a few

minutes to escape the pressures of urban life. There are 8,500residents living within 1 mile of the preserve.

The W. Haywood Burns Environmental Education Center (WHBEEC),with extensive community input, developed the Tivoli Lakes PreserveManagement Plan to provide community-based direction for the

planning, development, andmaintenance of Tivoli Preserve.Although the property is owned bythe City of Albany, and is one of 11major City Parks, it has beeninadequately maintained, for thepast two decades. WHBEEC hasstepped into this void and has, forthe past 8 years, provided thestewardship and resources needed

to make this urban jewel available for all to enjoy. We have invested

large amounts of our operatingcapital and staff hours to furnish theinfrastructure needed for publicaccess. WHBEEC has recruited andcoordinated the activities ofhundreds of community volunteerswho have donated thousands ofhours removing trash, planting trees,building trails and trimmingvegetation.

Tivoli Lake

Funding Needs:

Environmental Protection FundParks, Stewardship, and Urban/Underserved Communities


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A Plan for Community Based StewardshipW. Haywood Burns Environmental EducationCenter will apply for direct funding from stateEnvironmental Protection Funds to bring thePreserve up to its full potential, and seek EPFline item funding for future operational andmaintenance costs. The initial funding needed is

$390,000.00, most of which are one timecosts related to infrastructure improvements andequipment. The on going operational costs willbe about $70,000.00 a year.

Our proposal of the Tivoli Lake Preserve Community Based Stewardship is an innovativemechanism to serve as Tivoli Preserves monitor of management issues as they relate tothe operation of the preserve.The benefits of Community Based Stewardship are:

Management of the Preserve is in the hands of those who benefit from its use

Analyzes and implements environmental justice guidelines

The Tivoli site will have the community input and direction that were previously

missing for proper development, use, and management.

Fosters transparent procedures and processes that are openly accountable to other

observers and interests

Resolves issues in a manner that produces community based stewardship

Creates new and lasting relationships for identifying and serving the common

interest thru collaboration

Driven and sustained by mutual discovery and learning, empowerment, creativity,

and institutional support for responsible local stewardship

Commits to shared goals and objectives individually and organizationally

Tivoli has outstanding potential as an urban wildlife preserve. Asoriginally intended it has the capacity to serve as a model for otherinner-city communities to establish similar facilities. The urban wildlifepark concept was conceived to encourage the use of existingundeveloped urban open space. Such a concept recognized the needto increase awareness and enjoyment of wildlife by urban residentshaving little or no contact with their natural surroundings. The TivoliPreserve has vast potential for nature observation, ecological research,fishing, and demonstration of wildlife habitat management conceptsand enjoyment of the outdoors in the midst of a major metropolitanarea. The preservation of ecological habitat within urban limits is

becoming increasingly important as suburban sprawl steadilycontinues to consume natural habitats of the countryside.

Tivoli Lake Preserve Revitalization Project The Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP)vouches for the importance for urban preserves: The survival of oururban centers into the future depends upon the ability of the cities tobecome safe, clean and enjoyable places to live. An essential part ofmaking this possible is an increased effort to revitalize the urbanpreserves.


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The Tivoli Lake Preserve is essential to the City of Albany since thedisparity of open green space and areas of recreation are clearlyevident in the communities of Arbor Hill, North Albany, West Hill andSheridan Hollow.

The project goals are:

1) To enhance the wildlife habitat of the ecosystem at TivoliPreserve and ensure that it is protected and managed for futuregenerations to use and enjoy as an outdoor classroom andrecreational area.

2) To encourage community involvement in the process of restoringand managing Tivoli Preserve such that local communityresidents become stewards of the Preserve and surroundingarea.

3) To create a stronger awareness of the ecological and historical

value of Tivoli Preserve and the surroundingarea through environmental education,interpretation, and outreach.

This grant will purchase the trails equipment andconstruction materials to provide the followinginfrastructure improvements.

3.5 miles of trails have to be widened,

restored and graded for handicapaccess.

A steel bridge will be erected over the

lake out-flow to connect the maintrails.

A wildlife observation deck is to be

installed on the lakeshore.

Floating islands will be placed in Tivoli

Lake to improve the water quality.

The Preserve has many areas that are

overrun with invasive species. Thisgrant will provide a concentratedeffort to eliminate the Knotweed, Phragmite, PurpleLoosestrife and Locust Clones

An outdoor amphitheater isto be constructed for classinstruction by visitingschools.

Control erosion - Erosionoften occurs along varioussections of the trails afterheavy rains. Water barsneed to be installed where


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water regularly flows down the gradient of the trail creatingwashout areas and channels down the middle of the trail.

Construction of board walks over low-ground, frequentlysaturated sections of trail using ecotiles will greatlyimprove the quality of trails and minimize the impact ofhiking during wet seasons.

Build steps at the steep and frequently flooded sections of

the trails. Sections of the current trail systems arehazardous to pass because of the unstable footing at steepgradients.

Install pole mounted high resolution pan tilt zoom videocameras and underwater cameras for remote and webbased wildlife observation

U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Rendering of Tivoli Preserve


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Tivoli Lake Bio-remediation

Abstract:

Various studies have investigated the use of floating wetland platforms to enhancewetland capacity; those studies have determined the specific contributions of microbesand have quantified the microbial component of BioHaven Floating Islands for aerobic

removal of ammonium, anoxic removal of nitrate, and simultaneous aerobic/anoxicremoval of ammonium, nitrate and phosphate. It has been determined that the microbesgrowing within a unit volume of BioHaven Floating Island material are capable ofremoving 10,600 mg of nitrate per day, 273 mg of ammonium per day, and 428 mg ofphosphate per day, where the unit island volume is defined as having a top surface area of1.0 ft2 and a thickness of 0.6 ft.


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What is a

floating island?

BioHavenfloating islandsare buoyant mats,planted like a

garden andlaunched onto awaterway. Theyare made from amatrix of fiberswhich look like apot-scrub orloofah. Thematrix isfiltration materialmade from 100%

recycled plastic,from drink

bottles, which use the most inert plastic available. Layers of matrix are bonded togetherwith foam, which also provides buoyancy.

They can be made in virtually any shape or size. Large islands and walkways areconstructed using a modular system, reinforced for extra buoyancy, yet flexible enough tomove with the water.

Floating islandscan be launchedinto any

waterway, be itpond, lake,stream, effluentpond, lagoon,embayment - anywaterway willbenefit from afloating island,even the ocean.

They are usually

anchored ortethered in place,though they canbe left to floataround freely.

BioHavens were inspired by Nature, in particular, by the floating peat bogs of NorthernWisconsin, which are associated with clean water and great fishing. Using Nature tocleanse Nature is a form of Biomimetics.


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BioHavens dofive things:

1. They removepollutants from awaterway,including

nitrates,phosphates,ammonia andheavy metals

2. They providecritical riparianedge habitat infact, new landmass for use byall kinds of

creatures, frommicrobes to humans

3. They sequester carbon and other greenhouse gases

4. They provide wave mitigation and erosion control

5. They beautify a waterscape

BioHavens are planted with sod,garden plants or wetland plants and

launched onto a water body.

There the plants are allowed to grownaturally, and, as they develop, theirroots grow through the matrix andinto the water below. Over time, anatural eco-system evolves..

BioHavens, and the plants that growthrough them, provide surface areafor microbes to thrive. Microbes

remove pollutants of all kinds, fromthe nutrients caused by fertilizer run-off and organic waste, topharmaceuticals such as estrogen, toheavy metals, such as copper andzinc.

BioHavens are a concentratedfloating wetland the huge surfacearea of fibers provides many timesmore surface area than an equivalent


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stretch of bare wetland. Surface area is the key factor for microbial activity to take place,and microbes (bacteria) are the key to removing contaminants from the water. Plants andtheir roots are also important, but more for the extra surface area the roots provide thanfor any nutrient uptake the plants themselves account for.

BioHavens were invented eight years ago, have been successfully trialed for five yearsand have been on the market since July 2005. They represent a natural, convenient and

cost-effective solution for some of the most intractable and expensive problems on theplanet.

W. Haywood Burns Environmental Education Center596 Manning Blvd.Albany, New York 12210(518) 463-9760

tivoli lake preserve stewardship 2

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