Cornell student helps westchester land trust map invasive plants to protect local ecosystems.

Release Date: August 21, 2020

BEDFORD HILLS, NY, —Samantha Rubin, an environmental engineering student at Cornell University, spent her summer exploring Westchester Land Trust (WLT)’s Westchester Wilderness Walk / Zofnass Family Preserve, seeking to identify and map invasive plants. These types of plants are not native to the area and pose a threat to local ecosystems due to their ability to outcompete native plants and take over areas of land.

“Working with Westchester Land Trust this summer gave me insight into ecosystem management in suburban settings and helped affirm my interest in studying urban and suburban ecology,” Samantha said.

The 150-acre preserve in Pound Ridge has fewer of these non-native plants than other natural areas in Westchester County and Samantha worked to determine which areas of the preserve were the most and least invaded. She focused specifically on plants that are either known to be particularly harmful or that have only recently been introduced to this area and have not yet become well-established.

“Sam’s project builds on years of invasive plant work at this preserve and will help us eliminate several new invasive shrubs,” said John Zeiger, WLT’s Preserve Manager. John is a member of the WLT staff who cares for the organization’s 900 acres of owned properties. “The information Samantha gathered was compiled into a comprehensive report that will be used to guide the work at the preserve so that the native ecosystems remain intact.”

Samantha grew up in Westchester and has a strong interest in better integrating human society with its natural environment in suburban and urban settings. She has previously worked at Hilltop Hanover Farm and Environmental Center in Yorktown, NY. At Cornell, she works with Engineers for a Sustainable World developing ways to make urban farming more viable and environmentally friendly.

“This was a great opportunity to improve my skills in plant identification and practice using map-making software in a real-world setting,” Samantha said.

Samantha is one of many volunteers that have helped WLT keep up with the unprecedented increase in preserve visitors across all the organization’s properties since the COVID-19 pandemic began earlier this year. For more information about volunteer opportunities, contact WLT’s Preserve Manager, John Zeiger, at johnz@westchesterlandtrust.org or 914-234-6992 ext. 27.