Exhibit - No. 5
Riparian Buffer
The living edge between land and water. See how a ribbon of trees, shrubs and grasses shades the stream, filters runoff, and shelters life on both banks.
Location
Along the stream corridor
Best Season
Year – round
— What is A Reparian Buffer?
The transition from land to water.
A riparian buffer is a vegetated area that forms the transition between land and a stream or lake. It protects the water from the impact of adjacent land uses — filtering nonpoint-source pollutants and stabilizing the bank.
A forested buffer goes further still, shading the stream to keep the water cool — a healthy environment for fish, macroinvertebrates, and the whole aquatic web.
40 Pounds
1300 Miles
the average distance food travels to your plate
In The Park
Trees lining the path towards our stream
— Why it matters
A filter, a shock absorber, a home.
Few features do as many jobs at once as the vegetated strip along a stream's edge.
It traps & filters
Catches sediment from fields, lawns and roads, and the plants absorb fertilizers, animal waste, pesticides, oil and road salt before they reach the water.
It recharges groundwater
Slows surface runoff so it can soak into the soil instead of racing away — recharging groundwater and helping control floods.
It protects aquatic life
Cooler, cleaner water with less sediment means better habitat — plus food and shelter for aquatic invertebrates.
It shelters wildlife
Increases habitat on land too — shelter, food, water and breeding grounds for birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles.
— see the types
Urban agriculture takes many forms.
Support the park and bring a piece of NatureWorks Park into your home, garden, or classroom.
PRACTICE 01
Community Garden
Protectors, filters, and coolers — riparian buffers play a vital role stabilizing stream banks and maintaining water quality.
PRACTICE 02
Street Landscaping
A landscaped street with room for food production — like a portable raised bed taking the place of a parking spot.
PRACTICE 03
Riparian Forest Garden
The corridor along an urban stream, planted with fruit & nut trees, berry bushes, herbs, and perennial vegetables like rhubarb and asparagus.
By The Numbers
The edge that holds it together.
of the Chesapeake Bay watershed's 288,000 miles of banks have forest buffers — but streams aren't truly protected until 70% are buffered.
of all terrestrial wildlife species in North America rely on riparian buffers for food, shelter and travel paths.
Pennsylvania has more than 86,000 miles of rivers and streams — imagine buffers along all of them.
Trees in a buffer act like shock absorbers, diffusing the energy of floodwaters — and native plants should always be used.
— See it in the park
Scan. Learn. Grow
Throughout NatureWorksPark, interpretive signs carry QR codes that open up each exhibit's story on your phone — right where you're standing.
step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Follow the stream-side trail
BROWSE ALL PARK EXHIBITS →
— Plan Your Visit
Walk the
water's edge.
The Riparian Buffer exhibit follows our stream corridor — see grass, forest and multi-functional plantings doing their quiet work along the bank.