Cayuga Lake Global Earth Exchange
Map
Map
Story & Experience
From 1892-1962, this area on Cayuga Lake, one of New York’s Finger Lakes, was a salt mine and salt processing plant. Most of the workers were Syrians; the tiny St. George Syrian Orthodox Church nearby still holds services. When the salt industry moved, a fish hatchery operated here for about ten years. Then that closed, and this abandoned place, in the way of many, became more and more degraded and disrespected. People came here to drink, use drugs, and dump the stuff they no longer wanted.
The citizens of Lansing worked hard for many years in cooperation with the Department of Environmental Conservation to restore this beautifully situated plot of land-and-water, and now Salt Point is a protected area with 34 acres of trails and… as all our participants found out as they spent time on the land… much diverse wildlife.
From 1892-1962, this area on Cayuga Lake, one of New York’s Finger Lakes, was a salt mine and salt processing plant. Most of the workers were Syrians; the tiny St. George Syrian Orthodox Church nearby still holds services. When the salt industry moved, a fish hatchery operated here for about ten years. Then that closed, and this abandoned place, in the way of many, became more and more degraded and disrespected. People came here to drink, use drugs, and dump the stuff they no longer wanted.
The citizens of Lansing worked hard for many years in cooperation with the Department of Environmental Conservation to restore this beautifully situated plot of land-and-water, and now Salt Point is a protected area with 34 acres of trails and… as all our participants found out as they spent time on the land… much diverse wildlife.
Why this Place?
Salt Point Natural Area, Lansing, NY
Salt Point is a place that has made a happy transition from being a very wounded place to being a welcoming place for animals, birds, insects, and nature-loving humans.
Act of Beauty
We were a group of eight people: Erika, Tom, Lainey, David, Bruce, Audrey, KiRa, and me (Trebbe). (One person arrived late for the ceremony, but in time for the picnic that followed.) We missed the three friends who were unable to join us.
Remarkably, everyone had a story and/or some historical knowledge about this place. They knew how far the salt mine had extended underground, they knew about the sacredness of the lake to the Cayuga people, and they had personal experiences of it—kayaking or studying invasive plants or birdwatching. Despite its recent restoration, Cayuga Lake is threatened, as is all water. Flooding has caused agricultural run-off that leads to invasive plant species. There is even concern that one of the salt mines could collapse, causing an increase in salinity that would be harmful to living beings.
After we talked about the place, we spent half an hour on Step 3 of the Global Earth Exchange: getting to know the place as it is now. Here are a few segments of the stories we brought back:
- We saw a duck followed by 17 babies.
- I thought the ground was moving, but it covered with tiny frogs smaller than my fingernail!
- I saw an osprey in her nest.
- I was completely absorbed in watching this one tiny area just living its life. And then I heard someone fall off her paddleboard and got momentarily distracted!
- It was largely because of this lake that I moved to Ithaca.
- It felt so good just to be, to not have to do anything.
- I watched the snails. Their shells were in so many colors. One snail had climbed all the way up to the top of a tall stalk of grass. The trail it made was a combination of its own slime and cotton from the trees. I drew a spiral on the path, so we could all look at it when we walk out.
After we shared our stories, we collaborated on making a RadJoy Bird for Cayuga Lake and Salt Point. A piece of cardboard trash made a perfect pair of wings, which we adorned with plants.
We then shared a picnic lunch. As we were packing up to leave, we spotted a loon swimming in the lake, followed by a few babies… and one baby riding on her back. We felt happy, grateful that we live in this place, and grateful for friends-in-spirit.
Additional Photos
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