Meadow Restoration

Teatown manages approximately 32 acres of meadow habitat, an increasingly rare habitat in Westchester County. Meadows help increase our bird, insect and small mammal diversity by providing unique habitat spaces.

Prior to colonization, meadows were created or maintained by regular wildfires. In our region today, meadows are most often created through the abandonment of farmland. This was the case at Teatown; our meadows were once used for grazing or farming. Now they are a habitat dominated by grasses and wildflowers that require regular maintenance. To keep our meadows from transitioning into forest through a process called succession, they need to be mowed annually and invasive species need to be controlled. Controlled burns that mimic natural wildfires are not permitted in Westchester. We also are starting to manage some of the hedgerows that are largely composed of trees, shrubs and vines, many of which are invasive species.