Story Info
Story Info
Jennifer Fendya
Outer Harbor, Buffalo, NY
2023
Type of Wounded Place
Story & Experience
Along with so many others who know the Outer Harbor as an exquisite place to walk, bike, skate, fish and enjoy beautiful sunsets on Lake Erie, my friend Kate and I were frequent visitors to the shoreline path before the development projects began. With access to our usual walkway blocked the past year or so, we’ve been avoiding the area and its “sacrifice” zones. On the day of the Exchange, we found an opening and ventured into a fenced-off area, acknowledged the trucks and backhoes, and admired the beautiful wildflowers still blooming all around. We were quiet observers and on a bright, sunny morning with no other people around, there was a sense of hopefulness in the air. Not all had been lost and the resident non-humans were going about being, busy with their lives…
Along with so many others who know the Outer Harbor as an exquisite place to walk, bike, skate, fish and enjoy beautiful sunsets on Lake Erie, my friend Kate and I were frequent visitors to the shoreline path before the development projects began. With access to our usual walkway blocked the past year or so, we’ve been avoiding the area and its “sacrifice” zones. On the day of the Exchange, we found an opening and ventured into a fenced-off area, acknowledged the trucks and backhoes, and admired the beautiful wildflowers still blooming all around. We were quiet observers and on a bright, sunny morning with no other people around, there was a sense of hopefulness in the air. Not all had been lost and the resident non-humans were going about being, busy with their lives…
Why this Place?
Outer Harbor, Buffalo, NY
Two years ago, I had to cancel plans for an Earth Exchange on Buffalo, NY’s Outer Harbor. That was prior to the destruction of habitat deemed unimportant by the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation, which since has gone ahead with construction of a permanent outdoor amphitheater and rental of other shoreline spaces for large cultural and public events. Many citizens felt these activities were better held downtown with its pre-existing venues, means of access, and abundant parking, and currently, more than 42,000 people have signed a petition asking that the Outer Harbor be designated officially as public parkland, to allow it to recover from the damages of our industrial past, protect it from further development, and assist Western NY’s resilience to climate change. With minimal man-made “amenities,” it is a beautiful and peaceful place for quiet enjoyment of our significant natural and historic location on the Great Lakes.
Act of Beauty
Say more about your actions and activity
I’d brought with me Denise Levertov’s little collection of poems The Life Around Us and chose “Sojourns in the Parallel World” to read to the trees, noticing many of their heart-shaped leaves scattered on the ground. Then Kate and I gathered debris to construct our RadJoy bird to leave as a greeting for Monday morning’s work crew, hoping they too, would recognize it as a gift of thanks for the beauty of our Outer Harbor.
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