Photo Courtesy of Dana Patterson, WildNewJersey.tv

                                 This cedar waxwing was one of many birds enjoying the fruits of shadbush,

                             chokeberry, and other native vegetation planted along the landfill's riverfront.

By WNJ Correspondent Dana Patterson

A mile of exposed trash is now a native foraging area for migrating birds.  At Edgeboro Landfill in East Brunswick, an incredible Brownfields-to-Greenfields success story is taking shape along the Raritan River.

One mile of native vegetation, suitable for food and shelter for migrating birds, has been planted along the Raritan River in East Brunswick, and is flourishing with wildlife.

Wild New Jersey’s David Wheeler and Dana Patterson recently toured the site with Edison Wetlands Association’s Executive Director Robert Spiegel, Edgeboro Disposal, Inc.’s Jack Whitman, Princeton Hydro’s Mark Gallagher and Bill Bahr from Bahr’s Nursery.

During the tour, cedar waxwings were spotted enjoying the berries of the shadbush, Baltimore orioles were tweeting in the trees, and barn and rough-winged swallows flew around the Mary Murray, a legendary abandoned ferry docked along the river next to the restoration.

Over 5,500 shrubs and 700 trees including shadbush, oak, maple, bayberry, chokeberry, groundsel, and black-eyed Susan have been planted.  Approximately 70,000 square feet of the property was seeded, and a 7-feet high deer control fence was installed along 3,000 ft of the property.

“This remediation and restoration is truly a  Raritan River success story, and can serve as a model for other landfills in the region,” said Spiegel. “Edgeboro landfill is a testament to the ecological potential of New Jersey’s industrial legacy.”

For over a decade, solid waste discharged directly from Edgeboro Landfill into the Raritan River. Now, over 50 species of trees and shrubbery are mixed along the mile of restored riverfront habitat designed with maximum ecological value, enhancing an area that is already considered a growing birding hotspot for owls and bald eagles.

                         Once lined with exposed trash, the Raritan Riverfront has

                                    been planted with vegetation such as chokecherries.

                                      
                                                                   The Queen of the Raritan

                 

                       The Mary Murray Ferry, which once belonged to the Shah of Iran, sits
                     adjacent to the site in the Laurence Brook and is now being dismantled.

              
                              Edison Wetlands Association's Robert Spiegel tours the site with
                             Edgeboro Disposal Inc.'s Jack Whitman and a team of ecologists.

                        All photos by David Wheeler and Dana Patterson, WildNewJersey.tv