Replanting Indigenous and Historic Northeastern Species to create an Edible Plant Learning Center at the Jay Estate

The Little Garden Club of Rye in Zone III plans to use Founders Fund grant funds to secure the “capstone” of the eminent botanical learning center with the restoration of indigenous and historic Northeastern plant species. It will support the study of native vegetation in this dedicated outdoor classroom for thousands of visitors throughout the NY/NJ/CT area. 

The project will implement a custom design by Honorary GCA Member Larry Weaner for planting of a 2.7-acre area restoring edible indigenous and historic Northeastern plant species to create an Edible Learning Center. A companion curriculum delivered by Jay Estate’s Horticultural Director, Lucia Maestro, will focus on the pivotal role that native plants have played in healthy and sustainable human and wildlife communities. The Horticultural Director will train students of all ages on iMapinvasives, iNaturalist and eBird to document positive changes in the newly fenced-in and planted area and compare with an adjacent control area. The Jay Estate will collaborate on this programming with current partners like NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, New York/New Jersey Trails, the Lower Hudson Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, Planting Westchester and Sustainable Westchester while reaching out to newer national partners like Doug Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park. 

Outdoor lesson plans will emphasize the important role of citizen scientists and build awareness of growing threats to biodiversity from invasive monocultures, terrestrial pests, and disruptive climate change.

The plantings will include native vegetation with high wildlife value - pawpaws, elderberry, blueberry - with particular attention to species hosting native butterflies, songbirds, and pollinators present within the region; the project will have structural diversity (herb, shrub, and tree layers) associated with habitat quality; enhance wildlife forage diversity by emphasizing morphological variety, fruiting plants, blooms across the season, and vegetation documented to host a wide variety of insects; interface with nearby areas to increase habitat value; and include native edible perennial species for foraging by humans. 

The JHC synthesizes the best management practices and technology in landscape restoration and historic preservation while also incorporating new methods of adaptive reuse and green innovation. In this respect they serve as a model to others, a veritable laboratory of ideas.