Conservation takes root

Sunday, April 20, 2003

By CHARLES AUSTIN
STAFF WRITER

FAIR LAWN - Jennifer Greenwood hunched down over the sapling, as the Passaic River flowed gently a few yards behind her. With gloved hands, she formed a ridge of dirt around the 12-inch tree so that water could flow to its roots. A few yards away, 11-year-old Lauren Jones did the same with another of the 100 trees planted Saturday to stabilize the bank of the river.

The tree-planting project was a cooperative effort by municipal, business, and volunteer agencies to beautify the waterfront. The borough, the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, the River Road Improvement Corp., and the Passaic River Coalition worked together in what officials hope will be a long-term partnership.

As the trees take root, another volunteer group - the Columbia Heights Neighborhood Network - will see that the saplings get water.

Greenwood, a member of Fair Lawn's environmental commission for several years, has taken part in other local environmental projects, such as tidying up borough parks after the winter. The tree planting came three days before Earth Day, an observance that began in 1970 to encourage people to become more active in restoring and preserving the natural environment.

Wendy Dabney, chairman of the Fair Lawn commission, was also on hand to plant trees in the ground, which had been cleared of rubbish, plus poison ivy and other undesirable plants, over the past two weeks by the sewerage commission. Trees planted included sweetgum, maple, dogwood, and a type of redwood. All do well next to water, said Bill O'Hearn of the Passaic River Coalition, a volunteer group concerned with preserving the waterway.

"It took us six years to get to this point," Dabney said. Officials had to work with the various agencies, both public and private, and property owners along the river to get permission for the plantings.

"Preserving the riverbank is pivotal," she said. As they grow, the trees will keep erosion from encroaching on Wagaraw Avenue and River Road, which run alongside the river.

Some of the volunteers, such as Billi Schloss of Short Hills, came at the behest of the Passaic River Coalition. Schloss enjoys a day outside doing environmental good deeds and brought Lauren Jones and 13-year-old Alquadir Hubbard along to give them a taste of environmental volunteerism.

David Ryan of nearby Hawthorne did some of the heavy work of digging holes for the saplings. Ryan is also an environmental volunteer, having helped clean up parks in January and February. "I like the outdoors and its wildlife," he said.

As the new trees grow, perhaps about two or more feet a year, officials may consider adding benches and a pathway.

The River Road Improvement Corp., organized to stimulate business in the area, is studying additional landscaping for the riverfront, said Don Smartt, project director of the corporation. Smartt hopes that a beautified riverbank will make the area more attractive to new business and that the cooperation among the various agencies will grow. "We're not done yet," he said.