As the weather turns warmer, folks heading to the Rockaways should consider spending some time at the new 35-acre preserve that officials just unveiled.

Boasting five different ecosystems, the new preserve features accessible connections to the Rockaway boardwalk and beach as well. 

Expect a number of pedestrian pathways weaving through the preserve, allowing visitors to come face to face with the various natural environments on site: maritime grassland, maritime dunes, maritime shrubland, maritime forest and maritime swale.

Officials have also built a new welcome center, home to a community meeting space, office space for park rangers, crew headquarters for maintenance staff and public restrooms, according to a press release.

“The Rockaway Renaissance takes another historic step forward today,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Jr. in an official statement. “What was once a vacant, overgrown illegal dumping ground for decades is now a stunning hub of wildlife and a successful example of what community-centered sustainability work looks like.”

But there’s more: a local non-profit, RISE, has also set up camp in the area. The organization will be operating a native plant nursery, “raising locally-adapted native plant seedlings and saplings to support ongoing revegetation of the nature preserve, dunes, and other natural areas around the coast,” reads the press release, while an urban farm will be producing food as well.

The new preserve is part of a larger project called Arverne East that includes the revamping of a vacant 116-acre oceanfront site on the Rockaway Peninsula. When completed, the development will include 1,650 units of housing, most of which will be affordable, plus non-residential spaces, outdoor public destinations and more.

The area is about to look very different, starting with the new preserve.

* This article was originally published here