Draft:The Celery Farm

The Celery Farm is a publicly accessible protected natural area in Allendale, a borough of Bergen County, New Jersey. The preserve is 107 acres and consists largely of Lake Appert and the surrounding wetlands. The park is notable for the wide variety of birds that use the protected area as a stopover site during migration, as well as being a breeding ground throughout the year.

The land was first used for peat harvesting but was left abandoned until it was converted into a farm in 1888. The farm grew and exported onions, celery, and lettuce to the surrounding metropolitan areas, as well as a Campbell's Soup factory. The farm, located on the site of the former peat bog, faced flooding troubles regularly which eventually led to it changing ownership and falling into disuse during the 1950's. The unused land began to be retaken by nature and drew in a large array of wildlife in the growing suburban area. After plans were put forth to convert the land into a golf course, local residents began to push for the land to remain as a suburban nature preserve. After help from the town's mayor as well as the New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJFC), the town was able to buy the land and designate it as a wildlife sanctuary.

The Celery Farm is maintained by volunteers from the Fyke Nature Association, and officially managed by the Celery Farm Marsh Wardens. The park does not permit boating, fishing, drone operation, disturbing wildlife, jogging, or dogs on the property. Photography is permitted as long as it does not interfere with any wildlife. Ice skating is permitted in the winter, however it is on an at your own risk basis.

Description
The Celery Farm Natural Area is located between Franklin Turnpike and New Jersey Route 17 in Allendale, New Jersey. The preserve centers around Lake Appert, a shallow body of water with a ring of wetland around it, but also features a forested area. Given the suburban location of the preserve, surrounding neighborhoods, roads, and businesses can be seen from some areas of the park, particularly on the South and East sides of the park. There is a small parking lot on Franklin Turnpike that serves as the primary access to the park, however there are also several footpaths to access the park on Rio Vista Drive, Commerce Park, and Green Way. The preserve features a one mile primary walking path around Lake Appert, with several smaller trails in the northern portion of the park. Other bodies of water in The Celery Farm Natural Area include two smaller ponds, Phair's Pond on the northern side of the park, and Blue Heron Pond in the East, as well as Allendale Brook, which sprawls throughout the park. The primary walking path has features at various points, such as several elevated viewing platforms, benches, foot bridges, a butterfly garden, and fenced off areas that serve as native habitat rehabilitation areas. These fences primarily serve to keep the large deer population out of these designated areas, as they eat or trample many of the native species of flora.

Throughout the preserve there is evidence of previous uses of the land, such as old building foundations, raised rows of earth for crops, and rusted tractors and farming equipment that now serve as trailside features. The park also features numbered signage markers regularly along the paths to use as reference points in the case of an emergency.

History
The land that would become the borough of Allendale was a heavily forested region with streams and lakes scattered throughout the area, and was originally home to Lenape belonging to the Wolf Clan. After Europeans settled the area in the late 1600's and early 1700's, the land eventually fell under ownership of John Fell, a prominent judge and politician at the time. The wetland that would become the Celery Farm was rich with peat, and was bought by J.J. Zabriskie with the intention of harvesting and exporting the peat as a fuel source. This business venture was likely not as successful as anticipated, and eventually the land was abandoned.

The land was eventually bought by Henry and Ella Appert in 1888, who sought to convert the excavated bog into farmland. After clearing the area of the nature that had began to regrow and improving drainage conditions, the farm began to operate as Allendale Produce Farm, growing onions, celery, and lettuce. The farm was successful and expanded operations, with goods being shipped to New York City, Boston, as well as supplying a Campbells soup factory. The farm changed hands from the Apperts to J. Nevins McBride in 1943, but after flooding impacted crop growth several years in a row, the farm ceased operations in the 1950s. The land was partially used by a fish hatchery for several years after the farm closed.

Despite small local attempts to create a protected wetland, the former farm sat unused for many years, with wildlife returning and the lake slowly reforming The land became under consideration to be developed into a golf course, at which point Allendale mayor Edward Fitzpatrick joined the effort to protect the former farm. With the help of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) ,the borough of Allendale and the son of J. Nevins McBride, Peter McBride, a price of $170,000 for 60 acres was agreed upon to be paid by the NJCF until funds were secured to pay them back. These funds were eventually secured through government grants as a part of New Jersey's Green Acres Program. The borough became the official owners in 1981, making it the first town to buy wetlands with the intention of preserving them as an open space.

As Allendale became more developed, agreements were made with developers to gift adjacent land to expand The Celery Farm Natural Area in exchange for more favorable development regulations elsewhere. The preserved area gradually expanded to 107 acres and now includes Lake Appert, Allendale Brook, Blue Heron Pond, and Phair's Pond, as well as surrounding marshlands and forests.

Wildlife
Given the limited amount of preserved natural land in the area, The Celery Farm serves as an important space for various flora and fauna that would otherwise struggle in a suburban environment. A 2021 survey conducted by volunteers from the Fyke Nature Association, the organization in charge of maintaining the park, found 231 species of flora. While a complete survey on fauna is not available, a publicly crowdsourced list of birds seen or heard in the preserve lists over 250 species of birds, however these sightings are not confirmed.

Flora
The unique blend of water, wetlands, and forests provide a wide array of conditions for various plants to thrive. A particular point of concern in the park is the preservation of natural flora that would otherwise be dominated by invasive species. A 2024 soil report conducted by Rutgers University, the soil in the preserve has high organic content and a pH of 6.3, which is in the optimal range for the native plants of the northern New Jersey area. Projects conducted by volunteers to combat the spread of invasive species include creating fenced off areas for natural plants to grow, clearing a large invasive autumn olive grove, as well as clearing large swaths of invasive phragmite reeds from the shorelines of the lakes. Other efforts to support native species of plants include the meadow next to the Green Way footpath entrance to the preserve. This area is cleared of invasive grasses yearly, and native grasses and plants are seeded.

Fauna
The Celery Farm Natural Area is home to many animals typical of a forest in northern New Jersey, including a wide array of birds, rodents, insects, fish and amphibians. A particular concern regarding The Celery Farm is the large population of white-tailed deer that made the natural area their home as the surrounding area has become more urbanized. The disproportionately large number of deer has led to overgrazing of native flora, leading to attempts to mitigate this damage such as sections of forested area that have been fenced off to prevent deer from grazing.

The Celery Farm and Lake Appert are also known for being a particularly active hotspot for birding. The preserve, which sits in the middle of a large suburban area, also lays in the path of the Atlantic Flyway, a major migratory path for many bird species. Additionally, the wetlands provided within the park attract a wide array of herons and diving birds that feed on the numerous fish in the lake. The Fyke Nature Association also constructed birdboxes perched in the lake, as well as in various locations around the ponds, meadows, and forested sections of the preserve for a wide array of bird species.

Signage on the East side of the park denotes the habitat as a location for the threatened rusty blackbird. Another species of concern that is present in the park are red-shouldered hawks, which have lived in and around the park for many years. Additionally, the Butterfly Garden on the northwest corner of the natural area provides a habitat for many pollinators, including a reported 38 species of butterflies.