Liberty State Park Wet Meadow & Field EarthCache
Liberty State Park Wet Meadow & Field
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Waypoint 5 of 10 on Going Coastal’s NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Earthcache Discovery Trail in Liberty State Park, caches developed by Going Coastal, Inc. (www.goingcoastal.org) as a special project in affiliation with Groundspeak and support from the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Program and the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission.
The NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Earthcache Discovery Trail is meant to help visitors develop a better understanding of the Estuary, make connections between earth and environmental science, and foster stewardship.
At this cache, you should face north, looking in the direction of the Empire State Building.
Between the mid 1800’s and the 1960’s, the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CRRNJ) (visit link) permanently altered the landscape of this shore by filling the salt marshes to create a waterfront transportation hub of rail yards, freight trains and cross-harbor barges. By the time the railroad and industry abandoned it, the land was a toxic dump.
The transformation of the landscape required the removal of thousands of cubic yards of contaminated soil. Old toxic fill was dug out and healthy new soil was placed as part of the habitat remediation. Today, the Wet Meadow is characterized by a wealth of vibrant flowers and grasses that form an important habitat for many species.
The Wet Meadow and Field is a type of freshwater marsh saturated with water part of the time. The single most important characteristic is hydrology. ground is like a sponge, soggy and damp. The soil is clay and silt. A variety of water-loving grasses, sedges, rushes, and wetland wildflowers proliferate in the highly fertile soil of wet meadows. Wet meadows are valuable wetlands. During heavy rainstorms, the wet meadow collects and filters runoff. The wet meadow is a nutrient rich environment that provides vital food and habitat for many insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
Liberty State Park’s Wet Meadow is a perfect place for a wide range of insects to live in! Insects like, bees, grasshoppers, beetles, ladybugs, crickets, and butterflies. If you listen closely, you may here the crickets. Do you know that only the male crickets chirp? And when they chirp there are four things they could be singing about, but all four songs are to attract the female? Bet you didn’t know crickets go on dates too! SO listen closely.
The wet meadow near the estuary offers perfect growing conditions for Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoids), which is part of the willow tree family and a native species. The cottonwood tree to the west, loves the sun, and also prefers very moist soil. Each year the female tree releases tiny seeds that look like silky fluff - in the wind. When this happens it looks like it is snowing – it is also how this Populus deltoids got its nickname, cottonwood. The cottonwood sings when the wind rustles through its leaves.
A healthy meadow is a noisy place. A chorus of brilliantly colored songbirds - barn and tree swallows, eastern towhees, and passerines, call out as they fly above the grassy field dining on insects. Thirty-four species of songbirds have been reported at Liberty State Park. Listen to a whole animal orchestra in the meadow, crickets cheeping, bees buzzing, frogs croaking, birds tweeting and seagulls squawking. When all the critters chime in, their symphony is called a biophony. Now, tune in the background geophony - the sound of the rustling trees, water lapping on the shore, and the wind blowing across the meadow grass. Your voice, the distant boat motor, an airplane overhead, and other human-made noise are anthrophony. Taken all together it makes up the soundscape of the meadow.
Logging Activities:
1. Observe the wet meadow, examine the topography and elevations. From what direction does freshwater runoff arrive in the wet meadow? What other water source keeps the meadow wet?
3. (Optional) What animals do you see or hear in the wet meadow?
4. (Optional) Draw a sound map. First mark an “X” in the center of the page. The “X” shows YOU on the map- then designate where you are by drawing a compass rose. Close your eyes and listen for at least one minute. Now draw pictures or symbols on the map representing all the sounds you hear, and where they are coming from, for example if you hear a cricket near the tree close to your left ear; waves hitting the shore behind you. (POST TO YOUR LOG)
To log a find on this earthcache, email the cache owner (DO NOT POST IN YOUR LOG), unless instructed otherwise. Use your GPS device to locate the next cache - GC2T1KZ. (visit link)
Remember, to upload a photo and let us know in your log ways we can improve the trail.
To reserve a field trip for your class, please contact the educators at the Nature Interpretive Center at (201) 915-3409. Geomate Jr. GPS units will be provided for your group for your high-tech exploration of the geology and ecology of Liberty State Park. Additional resources are available online at www.goingcoastal.org (visit link)
Data Sources:
• NJ Geologic Survey - (visit link)
• Liberty State Park History (visit link)
• U.S. EPA - (visit link)
• Wet Meadow - (visit link)
Name and Type of Land
Liberty State Park
200 Morris Pesin Drive, Jersey City, NJ 07305
Phone: (201) 915-3440
(visit link)
OWNER: NJ Department of Environmental Protection
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