Volunteers work to bring Prospect Park's burned hillside back to life, nearly a year after a brush fire

""The forest has three layers," she said. "It has the herbaceous, the ground layer, the midstory and then the canopy trees, and to see all three layers being damaged was really difficult.""

""It was really traumatic," Monaco said. "This precious woodlands, you know, we feared would be gone forever.""

""In the winter of this past year, we installed a big soil fabric and reseeded the entire area to really rebuild that groundcover," Monaco said."

""It's like giving a life back to this part of the park," said Marco Bartalini, Windsor Terrace resident and dedicated volunteer."

Nearly a year after a brush fire damaged two acres of Prospect Park, workers and volunteers are restoring the charred hillside. The Nov. 8, 2024 blaze, worsened by historic drought, damaged groundcover, midstory and canopy layers. Park crews installed soil fabric and reseeded the area to rebuild groundcover and prevent erosion. Volunteers have been planting young ferns and bushes as part of erosion control and habitat recovery. Restoration is organized in three phases, with the final phase to replant lost trees; tree maturity and full recovery will take years.

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