World Wetlands Day 2025
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February 2nd, is known as World Wetlands Day, this year has an emphasis on the theme, “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future”. This observance highlights the importance of taking care of our environment and our wetlands.
Wetlands are land areas that have been taken over by a body of water, some examples of wetlands include, marshes, swamp, and wet meadows. Wetlands are an important feature in the environment. They have a list of benefits that provide value to our ecosystem, some benefits include, providing control for flood and storm water, acting as a natural filter for our ecosystem, and providing a habitat for fishes and wildlife. According to NY DEC, “Wetlands are one of the most productive habitats for feeding, nesting, spawning, resting and cover for fish and wildlife, including many rare and endangered species”.
Flushing Meadows Corona Park’s Willow Lake (pictured above) is considered to be FMCP’s only “Forever Wild” site which means that this area is protected from development and kept from being disrupted by human activity to preserve the natural habitats and biodiversity. Originally, this site was intended to be for entertainment purposes during the 1939-40 World’s Fair, however by the second fair it was turned into what it is known today with a diverse plant and wildlife habitats. It is also one of New York City’s last freshwater wetlands.
As important as Wetlands are for us, they are under constant threat due to climate changes and human activities which can affect the water quality and in turn harm the ecosystem in place. Did you know? There were over 200,000 acres of wetland in NYC when the Europeans came to America. Only 2,000 acres of freshwater remain in the city today. By recognizing the values of our wetlands and the role that they play in balancing our ecosystem, through conservation and clean up efforts we hope that this will protect our wetlands for future generations.
Interested in learning more about World Wetlands Day? Click here to learn more about this day and how it came around.