Cayuga Creek Tour 2023
Students from Niagara Falls and Niagara Wheatfield spent a day exploring Cayuga Creek in Niagara County, NY
Students from Niagara Falls and Niagara Wheatfield spent a day exploring Cayuga Creek in Niagara County, NY
Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper's (BNW) Young Environmental Leaders Program (YELP) provides a unique opportunity for high school students interested in the STEM fields to gain a heightened understanding of environmental principles while exploring local environmental issues.
Students learn from local environmental experts and activists who provide career connections and showcase the impact of community action.
Upon completion of YELP, students will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to become active participants and leaders in their local community in respect to the environment. This program cultivates environmental leaders who will inspire social change and fight for environmental justice. A summer mentorship opportunity is presented for select students to continue their exploration into local environmental topics and leadership development through job shadowing, field monitoring, public outreach, stewardship, and public speaking.
Across WNY, students from 6 different partner schools have the opportunity to participate in the program.
Over many decades, a combination of water pollution, surrounding land use, and creek channel alterations have left the creek’s water quality and habitat in an impaired state, and the surrounding community with persistent flooding issues.
Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper has worked for years to develop an approach to simultaneously restore this wetland habitat, reduce the flooding issues, and eventually connect residents and visitors with this natural waterfront site on Cayuga Creek through a unique trail system.
In 2018 after over 10 years of coordinated efforts, approximately 30-acres of land was donated by Joseph C. Weber, Inc. to the Town of Niagara. More recently, 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.
Working with the Town of Niagara, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper spent several years securing funds, collecting and analyzing data, and developing project designs with flood mitigation and habitat restoration as the main focus.
The Cayuga Creek Stream and Floodplain Restoration project was finally implemented in Spring of 2022 and is currently the only project in WNY of this kind, seeking to mitigate flooding through channel reconstruction.
On a chilly day this February, YELP students from Niagara Falls High School and Niagara Wheatfield High School left their classrooms behind to explore Cayuga Creek, from its headwaters to its mouth.
We began our journey in the headwaters of Cayuga Creek, on the Niagara Wheatfield High School Campus.
The headwaters is where it all begins. The Cayuga Creek spring was once the source of drinking water for the Tuscarora Nation but no longer can be used because of pollutants that seeped into the ground water.
While exploring the wooded area that is home to the beginning of Cayuga Creek on Niagara Wheatfield's campus, students got a taste of the diverse wildlife that depend upon the Creek and its shorelines.
Cayuga Creek is home to a large variety of warm water fishes, birds, and insects. One can often observe belted kingfishers diving to catch the minnows that feed on the aquatic insects. The creek corridor is also home to deer, muskrat, foxes, racoons, and bats.
The next stop for our tour was the Niagara Falls International Airport! Students grabbed binoculars and scanned the large open area of runways and fields for an amazing artic visitor, the Snowy Owl.
We did not see the Snowy Owl on this trip, but we will be back to check again! The owl pictured was found at Buffalos Outer Harbor in 2020.
Here we saw first hand how Cayuga Creek was channelized, and an airport was built around it. Students considered what impact this had on the wildlife and water quality of Cayuga Creek.
Moving downstream, students strapped on snowshoes to check out the site of a Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper restoration project along Cayuga Creek. At this site in the Town of Niagara, BNW is protecting and restoring a forested wetland to prevent the downstream community from experiencing flooding events.
One of the worst environmental and human health tragedies in American history happened here in the Love Canal community of Niagara Falls. Toxic waste poisoned hundreds of families and traveled through the ground into Cayuga Creek.
Community activists fought for the rights of the residents and ultimately won one of the biggest environmental injustice settlements in history.
Our group met with Mike Basile, from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, to learn about this history and the environmental remediation of the area.
Our last stop! We took a moment to view the mouth of Cayuga Creek, as it spills out into the Little Niagara River. From Jayne Park on Cayuga Island, students envisioned what the floodplain looked like before human manipulation, and discussed ways to improve shorelines for wildlife and better water quality.
To end the day, we spent time playing outside, enjoying the playground and the sunny weather before heading back to school!
With this new experience along Cayuga Creek, YELP students will spend the rest of the semester exploring environmental solutions and taking action!
Follow us on social media @bnwaterkeeper for updates on these amazing environmental stewards and their progress!
YELP students planting trees at Ellicott Creek Park
Are you an educator looking to engage your students in learning about watersheds, waterway issues, and stewardship? Check out our resources!
We have lessons, activities, and videos available that focus on a variety of topics: https://bnwaterkeeper.org/school-programs/