Nature is reclaiming more than 900 acres of flood plain, slowly turning it into a landscape to mirror the habitat of Kinston’s earliest residents.

Geese, hawks, mockingbirds and dozens of other bird species, turtles, raccoons and other wildlife are returning to the land. Lacy Spanish moss is beginning to decorate tree limbs. Marshy areas are inviting other creatures. And it’s all happening in the midst of what once was a busy neighborhood and an abandoned landfill.

The devastation in the old Davis Street landfill left by Hurricane Floyd is taking on a new face, thanks in large part to Bill Ellis, director of the Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation Department.

Ellis has talked for several years about the benefits that could be drawn from the land. Now those benefits are becoming apparent.

“This area is almost the size of a state park,” he said. “It has almost a half mile of waterfront property. It will take 10 to 15 years to develop it fully.”

Its working name is East Kinston Retro-Green. Some of the space will become a passive park, inviting visitors to stroll its paths, marvel at its wildflowers, study its birds, or merely rest and read.

A children’s playground will be finished in about two weeks. As soon as Ellis’ department can afford to do the work, a playground entrance will be built. Nearby, master gardeners are turning a plot of dirt into a children’s garden.

“We’ll be able to bring in kids from day camps, church groups,” Ellis said. “Kids will plant gardens and flowers and maintain them with help from master gardeners. They’ll learn how to grow, plant things. The agriculture extension service is doing the program.”

The Peachtree treatment plant is on a knoll. The old plant will be demolished and the land will be turned over to boy scouts for camping and other activities.

A grant from the National Rifle Association will provide the money for a hunter’s safety course. Another area will be open for groups to camp.

“We’ve got to get all the land purchased first,” Ellis said. “That will be done within the next few years.”

The money to buy the remainder of the land is coming from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of the flood buyout program.

“We just now got funding to buy those people out,” Ellis said. “My understanding is they offered people the tax value of their property. Most were willing to sell.”

Floyd’s ill wind finally is blowing something good toward Kinston.

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