New Roots Cayuga Wetlands Restoration Project

After piloting sustainable indigenous practices shared by leaders of our Haudenosaunee neighbors, New Roots was awarded a $38,745 grant (in 2018) from the New York State DEC to expand our Cayuga Wetlands Project, designed to restore a wetland on the south end of Cayuga Lake by planting and maintaining wetland plant species. Students initiated this project through their Earth Systems Science class in 2016. In response to water quality testing and research about indigenous land and water management practices, students petitioned the City of Ithaca for permission to establish a pilot wetlands site by planting cattail, calamus, and arrowhead. Subsequent water testing by several science classes at the test site has demonstrated improved water quality due to the bio-filtering of harmful pollutants, including phosphorus that may lead to harmful algal blooms.