Ecosystem Repair
Flushing Bay and Creek are encircled by highways and overlain with hundreds of acres of parking lots. These hard surfaces exacerbate a stormwater management crisis, where homes and streets flood during heavy rainfall and over two billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted stormwater pour into Flushing Waterways every year.
Through habitat restoration, coalition-based organizing and community science, GoFB and our volunteers are hard at work to realize the healthy and resilient waterway that our communities and ecologies deserve.
Sewer and Stormwater Management
The greatest threat to a healthy Flushing Waterways ecosystem is the city’s overwhelmed sewer system, which releases over two billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted stormwater into the bay and creek every year. As a member of the SWIM coalition, GoFB advocates for improved sewer and stormwater management in our watershed.
Resilience Planning
Climate resilience is the ability to prepare for, recover from, and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Climate resilient projects consider social, ecological, and socio-economic factors so that projects don’t displace the communities they are designed to protect. Through community-based planning, GoFB develops and realizes social and ecological resilience projects for our watershed.
Community Science
Since 2012, GoFB has been using water quality sampling data as an integral advocacy tool. The CSO output into Flushing Waterways is a public health and access issue. This impacts water users and our watershed communities’ quality of life. If left untreated, CSOs also have devastating effects on fish, wildlife, and aquatic habitats.
Green Infrastructure Stewardship
Green Infrastructure—rain gardens, permeable pavement, and green roofs—uses ecology to slow down stormwater flowing into our sewers and waterways. These green spaces also cool our neighborhoods, help prevent flooding, capture carbon and create habitat. As a member of the RAIN coalition, GoFB builds a network of local stewards with the equipment, knowledge and capacity to take care of their local green spaces.
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