The Rye Nature Center

The Rye Nature Center is an irregularly shaped 47 acre park with stone outcroppings, large ruins of an old stone mansion, several patches of wetlands, a "forest" of mature deciduous and fir trees, a native plant garden and a children's learning garden and many marked walking trails. A half-mile strip at the front of the property contains Blind Brook which is prone to severe flooding. At the back of the property, there is a large -- about two acres -- vernal pond called Nanderwhere Pond. Nanderwhere Pond is an important educational tool which is currently in a state of disrepair.

Rye Nature Center is one of six community gardens supported by the Little Garden Club of Rye and the site most frequently visited. The Little Garden Club of Rye has a longstanding relationship with the non-profit, Friends of Rye Nature Center (FRNC), and the 47-acre preserve it manages. In 1956, the Little Garden Club of Rye President, Phyllis Mallory, in collaboration with Edith G. Read of the Rye Garden Club, were instrumental in petitioning the City of Rye to save this parcel of land from development and designate it as the park area known today as the Rye Nature Center. In 1988, the Little Garden Club of Rye established the Native Plant Garden on the property to highlight wildflowers and plants native to the northern United States, including several plants that are endangered in New York State. The Little Garden Club of Rye still manages this garden, combating invasives and planting natives to help preserve the community’s green space. The Little Garden Club of Rye continues to support FRNC’s mission of conservation, education, and community access to nature. More recent projects include annual garlic mustard plant “pulls”, co-hosting a native tree and shrub sale in 2013 and, with the help of a Little Garden Club of Rye member, establishing the Friends of Rye Nature Center Inner-City Scholarship Fund camp in 2008 which has hosted over 1,500 campers over the past 14 summers.

During Hurricane Ida, the waters in Blind Brook, which runs through Rye and the Rye Nature Center, rose as high as twelve feet in some places severely damaging the Rye Free Reading Room, the Rye Fire House and dozens of local businesses. Dozens of residents suffered damage to their homes making them uninhabitable for over a year. Blind Brook carried tons of debris through the town and the Rye Nature Center, damaging the banks of the Brook and several habitats.

The funds from the Restoration Grant will be used for debris removal, clearing the pathways around the pond and restoring the wetland buffer. This will include stabilizing the area in the perimeter of the pond by replanting the area with native plants, shrubs and trees. Native wildflowers will also be planted. Other components of this program, funded from other sources, include hiring the services of a landscape expert to: assess the topography, particularly the area that slopes towards the pond; address the reduction of non-point nitrogen pollution of pond; advise on future environmental improvement opportunities; determine which elements of the plan can be managed by volunteers and which will require hiring outside contractors; and, manage permitting with the City of Rye. Labor and materials to rebuild the Education Platform for studying the pond, and information signage about pond ecology, are also included in the estimated $25,000 cost.