The State University of New York at Binghamton is a public research university with campuses in Binghamton, Vestal, and Johnson City, New York. It is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system. 

Binghamton University

The Three Sisters Garden is located in The Science 1 courtyard on Binghamton University’s main campus. This garden was planted in May of 2022 in collaboration with the Onondaga Nation, the fire keepers of the Haudenosaunee, and in the spirit of the Two Row Wampum—Gä•sweñta’ or The Silver Covenant Chain of Friendship. Sacred varieties of Indigenous seeds were planted by Angela Ferguson (Onondaga Nation Farm), Sarah Patterson (Onondaga Nation Farm), Tony Gonyea (Faith Keeper, Onondaga Nation), Ethan Tyo (Akwesasne Mohawk), and faculty, administrators, and students from Binghamton University. In the Fall, Angela Ferguson and her farm team will return to campus, help us harvest the garden, and prepare the bounty in a traditional Haudenosaunee manner for a feast that we will share in early October. Details of the harvest will be announced in the fall. This garden part of the curriculum of several classes in Environmental Studies, Sustainable Communities, Anthropology, and History.


The Three Sisters are part of the Haudenosaunee creation story where the grandchildren of Sky Woman, whose fall from the heavens precipitated the creation of Turtle Island. Sky Woman’s daughter perished while giving birth to twins, and the grieving ancestress covered her body with an earthen mound. In one retelling of this creation story by Sarah Patterson to Binghamton University faculty and students, she recounted that strawberries grew from Sky Woman’s daughter’s heart, wild potatoes from her feet, tobacco from her head and corn, beans and squash from her body. 


As the garden grows you will notice the corn stalks make a natural trellis for the beans to meander up. At the base of the corn and beans, the squash will fan out low to the ground, encircling the mounds with their large and spiny leaves. The large leaves of the squash will shade out competing weeds and the spiny leaves will keep away predators. What you won’t see with the naked eye is that he corn and squash will extract nitrogen from the soil and the beans will help replenish that nitrogen for future generations of Three Sisters. Grown together on mounds, the Three Sisters are a biological complement to one another. 


By uploading photos of the Three Sisters Garden to the Chronolog Program, you are contributing to documenting the communal, cultural, and ecological significance of this garden. Thank you!


If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to BU garden organizers BrieAnna Langlie, Department of Anthropology and Barry Brenton, Center for Civic Engagement:  langlie@binghamton.edu or bbrenton@binghamton.edu
 

<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';color:#0000ff;background-color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;-webkit-text-decoration-skip:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">the Two Row Wampum—Gä•sweñta’ or The Silver Covenant Chain of Friendship

<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';color:#0000ff;background-color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;-webkit-text-decoration-skip:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The Three Sisters are part of the Haudenosaunee creation story

<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';color:#0000ff;background-color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;-webkit-text-decoration-skip:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Grown together on mounds, the Three Sisters are a biological complement to one another.

<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';color:#1155cc;background-color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;-webkit-text-decoration-skip:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">langlie@binghamton.edu

<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';color:#1155cc;background-color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;-webkit-text-decoration-skip:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">bbrenton@binghamton.edu

Three Sisters Garden at Binghamton University, Science 1 Courtyard

Join us in observing the seasonal impacts on plants, salinity, and hydrology at this site! 

Due to the colder winters in the Northeast, factors like road salts have played a major role in increasing salinity levels in freshwater over time, and may be affecting our very own constructed wetlands on campus. This can be harmful to plants and wildlife that aren’t adapted to high salinity environments. 

We hope that, with your help, we will be able to improve our understanding of the relationship between seasonal changes and plant growth, and contribute to future research about the impacts of freshwater salinization!

1). Wetland habitats are essential for a diverse array of plant and animal species, including endangered animals such as the tiger salamander, wood frog, and spadefoot toad.

2). Wetlands prevent sediments from erosion and harmful chemicals from runoff from reaching the Susquehanna river and Chesapeake Bay watershed.

3). We should preserve these areas for their natural beauty and recreational value.

Lake Leiberman was reconfigured in 2011 to collect storm runoff from the newly expanded Newing and Dickinson communities. Impervious surfaces such as parking lots, roads, and sidewalks prevent surface runoff from infiltrating the soil, so the wetland facilitates this process and allows ground water stores to be recharged. As a result, Lake Lieberman prevents high levels of surface runoff from directly reaching the nearby Fuller Hollow Creek, and helps to reduce flooding. By monitoring Lake Lieberman, we can better understand the seasonal relationships between plant growth, freezing patterns, water level fluctuations, and pollution from impervious surfaces.

If you have any questions, send us an email at bgccw4@gmail.com !  

<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';color:#1155cc;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;-webkit-text-decoration-skip:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">flooding

Lake Lieberman Constructed Wetland

Join us in observing the seasonal impacts on plants, salinity, hydrology, and erosion at this site! 

Due to the colder winters in the Northeast, factors like road salts have played a major role in increasing salinity levels in freshwater over time, and may be affecting our very own constructed wetlands on campus. This can be harmful to plants and wildlife that aren’t adapted to high salinity environments.  

3). We should preserve these areas for their natural beauty and recreational value. 

Nuthatch Hollow is a bird sanctuary that used to be owned by Robert Schumann, who left the property to the Binghamton Environmental Studies Program. As of 2022, the site will be home to the world's 31st living building! 

From this location, you can see vernal pools, which are seasonal wetlands that dry up during the summer and fall. The vernal pools at this site were built in the fall of 2021, so you can help us monitor their development!

Additionally, this site hosts a creek that acts as an inlet from the road to the wetland. Check dams were recently built to counteract high levels of erosion in the channel, which had been causing sedimentation and high turbidity in the wetland. Your images will help us monitor the progress of this remediation. 

If you have any questions, send us an email at bgccw4@gmail.com ! 

Nuthatch Hollow Creek Restoration & Vernal Pool

Join us in observing the seasonal impacts on plants, salinity, and hydrology at this site!

1). Wetland habitats are essential for a diverse array of plant and animal species, including endangered animals such as the tiger salamander, wood frog, and spadefoot toad. 

Bartle Wetland was built in 2018 to mitigate runoff from the adjacent parking lot, preventing salts and metals from making their way into the Susquehanna River. It has an increased channel flow compared to the other nearby wetlands and serves to facilitate stormwater and wastewater treatment. We will be monitoring the development of the wetland in terms of hydrological patterns and plant species appearance and survival. 

If you have any questions, send us an email at bgccw4@gmail.com !

Bartle Constructed Wetland

Site Description
This bridge crosses the Binghamton University Nature Preserve pond. This land was originally meant to be converted into sports fields in 1969, but after many protests by Binghamton students and faculty, it was made into the Nature Preserve. The pond is relatively new, as it formed in the 1980s as a result of beaver dams. Unfortunately, due to bulldozing at the start of the project, a marsh has been created with two invasive species: common reed and purple loosestrife, which we will consider when monitoring plant growth at the site. We will also be observing beaver activity, plant growth, and freezing patterns.

Nature Preserve Pond

Deer populations in the Northeastern United States are relatively unchecked due to the absence of predation. Binghamton University's campus is no exception; due to a lack of wolves and mountain lions, the deer population hovers around 260 instead of the 15-20 it should ideally be. 

As a result, the deer over consume any plants within their reach, including saplings. The forest can not regenerate since no new trees can grow to replace fallen ones. This exclosure is one of many that will show how the forest ecosystems can recover when not influenced by excessive deer populations. 

Binghamton University

New York

6 chronologs managed by Binghamton University

Nature Preserve Pond

Lake Lieberman Constructed Wetland

Bartle Constructed Wetland

Deer Exclosure

Three Sisters Garden at Binghamton University, Science 1 Courtyard

Nuthatch Hollow Creek Restoration & Vernal Pool

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