Siedenburg Park Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size:  (regular)
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Level terrain, it is a fairly large park near. Within 1/2 mile of
Bay Terrace SIR stop and also about 1/2 mile from Great Kills SIR
stop. The Great Kill SIR Stop is probably better because the walk
is more intuitive (i.e. the streets run towards the parks and are
not cul-de-sacs.
This park honors Christopher John Siedenburg (1969-1994) a
dedicated Staten Island fireman. A lifelong resident of Great
Kills, he saw fighting fires as the finest expression of his
greatest goal, helping people. Throughout his time at Monsignor
Farrell High School and his two years at the College of Staten
Island, Siedenburg worked as a newspaper carrier, restaurant
worker, lifeguard, and at several other jobs. He then joined the
Volunteer Heart Resuscitation Unit of Staten Island (VHRU) and
trained as a State Emergency Medical Technician. The many hours
that he devoted to the VHRU each week earned him both awards and
recognition. As soon as he was eligible, Siedenburg entered the
Fire Department of New York (FDNY) training program. After passing
the written test, he achieved a perfect score on the highly
challenging physical tests. On September 8, 1991, he became a New
York City firefighter assigned to Engine 24 in Greenwich Village.
He continued to volunteer with the VHRU on his days off. This
dedicated man had only been on the job for two and a half years
when he was badly injured in a SOHO fire on March 28, 1994. The EMT
who transported Siedenburg to the Cornell Burn Center later told
his family that despite severe pain from his burns, Christopher had
said that “being a firefighter is the greatest job in the world,
helping people.” He died the next day at age 25. Siedenburg Park on
Greaves and Dewey Avenues was named in 2001 to celebrate and
remember his courage and his generosity of spirit. The park,
formerly known as Evergreen Park, was created in 1982 as the result
of a land exchange deal between the City and the Arthur Walkill
Corporation of real estate developers. The company provided the
land and a $75,000 trust fund to be used for its maintenance in
exchange for another City-owned parcel of land elsewhere on the
island. Through an arrangement with Parks, the Staten Island
Institute of Arts and Sciences managed this property, providing
educational programs as well as security for the park until 1989.
Since then, Parks has been responsible for all maintenance. Bird
watchers and hikers alike appreciate the site's varied topography
and diversity of wetland wildlife, while researchers and scientists
benefit from the site's unspoiled natural environment. The parkland
sustains a broad assortment of wetland wildlife in both ponds and
reedy swamps. At its entrance, the park welcomes visitors with many
beautiful, full-grown junipers and a variety of evergreen shrubs.
The Greaves Avenue expanse overlooks the swamp which is home to the
park's many birds, among them great blue herons (ardea herodius),
mallard ducks (anas platyrhynchos), egrets (casmerodius albus),
green herons (butorides striatus), and red-winged blackbirds
(agelaius phoeniceus). A large section of the park is covered by
oak forest and hosts several varieties of ferns,
pink-ladies-slipper orchids (cypripedium reginae), wild blueberries
(vaccinium), azaleas and other, similar shrubs. Some evergreens and
Red maples (acer rubrum) can also be found in this vast woodland
and unique species to this park, such as royal ferns (osmunda
regalis), netted chain ferns (woodwardia), and Indian cucumber
roots (medeola virginiana) are abundant.
Lunchtime Cache Cache In - Trash Out!
Dogs Allowed
Available year-round Restricted hours
Bicycles permitted on paths No restrooms available
Camera in
Cache No Water Available Off-trail
Hiking Required No Offroad
Vehicles Park n Grab |
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