East Greynolds Park is located in NE Miami-Dade County, along the Oleta River Corridor and is situated on the western bank of Maule Lake – a former rock-mining pit that is connected via the Oleta River to Biscayne Bay. Oleta River is the last wild, or naturally flowing, river in Dade County.

Maule Lake has a history that dates to the turn of the century when it was dredged to become a rock quarry. Back then, fill was needed to build the Flagler Railway then the roads and buildings we see today. As South Florida sits on old coral rock it didn’t matter much if the limestone rock came from land or underwater, so developers dug and dug until they hit saltwater and then kept digging. In the process they decimated some of the densest old growth mangroves one could imagine.

Currently, at East Greynolds Park invasive vegetation outcompetes the important native species. Volunteers along with our partners at Miami Dade County and The Nature Conservancy will help eliminate this vegetation and plant native species. With the removal of invasive trees and the subsequent return of the original hydrological gradient, along with volunteers planting mangroves and a spectrum of native salt water wetland plants, we expect a return of the natural recruitment of vital native habitats.