Upstate Archipelago

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Overview

It’s easy enough to celebrate water when you’re on the Erie Canal. But what if, at the same time, you can also inspire cultural, ecological and economic development throughout a region?

That’s the idea behind creating an archipelago, commonly defined as an expanse of water with many scattered islands. It’s not something you can now find in New York, but this proposal says we should.

This proposal would respond to New York State’s aim to prepare for climate change by reinforcing the canal’s potential as a working, watery landscape. A series of pilot projects will take place in the town of Clyde, about 55 miles east of Rochester, and its adjacent landscapes, including the Marengo Marshland and tracts of farmland.

These pilot projects apply a toolbox of interventions. That could mean making some areas more flood-resilient so they can be developed, while perhaps flooding other tracts to restore wetlands, attract migratory fowl and create landscapes that respond to the region’s ecological needs.

The project also seeks to upgrade local trails. With a revamped Erie Canal Trailway nearby, travelers who may not have previously stopped in the Clyde area could experience the rich bio-diversity this project would create.

Team Back to Top

• Maria Goula and Jamie Vanucchi
• Frank Talsma, H+N+S Landscape Architects
• Ricard Pie Ninot
• Sandi Bastedo, Wayne County Cornell Cooperative Extension SOAR Project Coordinator