Sally Week: A Day of Revitalization

The Lehigh Gap Nature Center: http://lgnc.org/

Day two was a day of difficult terrain. The class traveresed up the mountainside of a superfund site. This location, once barren, had been brought back to life and is now a thriving parkland with many trails. Of these trails the one up over the ridge is quite spectacular but physically draining.

The superfund site, ie the Lehigh Gap Nature Center,  hosted a number of test plantings. The whole site was a sort of farm blanket of test patches for plants and their corresponding animals attracted and their ability to thrive and clean up a toxic place. Perhaps in future the Lehigh Gap Nature Center employees can discuss more in depth the planning and data collection of these sites.

It seems like an amazing asset to have a nature center at the site of a clean up particularly to revitalize not only the natural elements of the area but also the social elements. More superfund sites should consider the social and economic impacts and results of successful clean ups.