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Showing posts from March, 2015

May 2 - Creating Visual Stories of Washington Square Park with Your Smartphone

Image: Bethesda Angel, Bethesda Fountain at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park by Roberta Fineberg ( source ) This event has been cancelled. We apologize for the inconvenience. Mark your calendar for Saturday, May 2, 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. for a photographic adventure in Washington Square Park.  Using your smartphone learn to 'read' Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village and make pictures of an iconic New York City landmark. See the "forest" or the "big picture" features such as the Arch and the fountain, but also the "trees" both literally and metaphorically. Discover lamp details, tree bark, the curve of the new comfort station, the roll of the astroturfed play hills, and more. Photographer, teaching artist, and SPY creator Roberta Fineberg (http://www.nycsparkyourcreativity.com) will be your techie and artistic guide. Photo review and image sequencing (aka collage making) will take place in a nearby cafe. Please note that 10% of sales

Wild About: Red-tailed hawks

Wild About is a celebration of the flora and fauna commonly found in our cities. Instead of fact sheets, this space will showcase books, art, music, societies, and whimsical objects about urban-adaptable plants and animals. If you would like to see your favorite urban-oriented plant or animal featured, please email us at info(at)localecology.org. Image: Red-tailed hawk via GVSHP ( source ) Usually segments in this series are posted on Tuesdays but I wanted  tonight's red-tailed hawk event hosted by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation  to be fresh in your minds. The program details follow. The Red-Tail Hawks of Greenwich Village and the East Village A lecture and slideshow with Gabriel Willow Wednesday, March 25 6:30 – 8:00 P.M. Free; reservations required Washington Square Institute, 51 East 11th Street, between Broadway and University Place [Please note this venue is not wheelchair accessible.] If you have ever seen the group of people in Washi

WSP Eco Projects Launches with WSP Eco Map

As you might recall, we wrapped up a successful fundraising campaign last year on the ioby platform to develop a mobile map of the wild things of Washington Square Park. Thank you to all our supporters and collaborators! We also ran a contest to name the map and the winning name is WSP Eco Map. As part of the naming process, the overarching initiative changed names, too, from WSP Ecology to WSP Eco Projects . The latter is the umbrella organization for the map and educational events in the park. You can use the map in the park on your mobile device or at home on your computer. This release of the WSP Eco Map is a beta version, so comment gently, please! Tree and creek information are available on the map. We are working on adding the locations of the nesting boxes and other natural assets. Like us on Facebook . Follow and use #wspecoprojects and #wspecomap on Twitter. You can also find us on Instagram . P.S. Subscribe to the WSP Eco Projects newsletter to receive WSP E

About the tulip poplar, a guest post by Eric Larson

Image: Tulip poplar flower I don't remember when I signed up to receive Eric Larson's Plant of the Week newsletter from Marsh Botanical Garden, part of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, but I enjoy reading them. The tulip poplar or tuliptree ( Liriodendron tulipifera ) is one of my favorite trees. I like the tree's impressively straight trunk, beautiful flower (forage for bees), and vibrant fall foliage. Eric has written about other of my favorite trees, but for some reason, this profile struck me more than others. I asked Eric if I could share his essay with you and he responded affirmatively. Thank you, Eric. Readers, let me know what you think about the essay and about tulip poplars in the comments.

Meyer Berger on New York's Trees and Greenspaces

I was introduced to Meyer (Mike) Berger and his book New York by Eric Anderson. Eric is the illustrator of the fantastic pictorial of the natural inhabitants of Washington Square Park that was published in the NYU Alumni Magazine. New York is a collection of Mike Berger's columns for the Times . He wrote a couple of columns in which he referred to the Minetta Waters and the Minetta Brook. (Everything I've read about this body of water that flowed above ground in Washington Square Park refers to it as a brook but since the landscape was not particularly rugged, it might be more correct to call the waterbody a creek.) Mike also wrote about trees growing in the city. Here are some excerpts from the book. I am sure I've missed some; please let me know in the comments. July 21, 1954 The men who nurse the city's 2,820,000 trees are in a sweat over the second year of drought in New York. Trees are dying in greater numbers than they have ever known, and there is not to