Lisa Whitmer is the Director of Adult Education at The New York Botanical Garden.
“We already know how to live sustainably with woodlands. That’s what we did for almost 10 millennia! We need to re-create a relationship with trees that is based on grateful exchange rather than exploitation.” Arborist and NYBG instructor William Bryant Logan’s hope for the future is palpable and underpins his newly published book, Sprout Lands: Tending the Endless Gift of Trees. Beautifully written and grounded in science and culture, Sprout Lands explores what we can learn from the ways in which people around the world traditionally cared for trees, accepting what they offered—wood for charcoal, animal feed, building materials—while ensuring they sprouted again.
As a child, Logan fell in love with trees by climbing the majestic old specimens surrounding his home in suburban Northern California. “I’ve always loved trees, but I hated gardening. I trimmed hedges furiously because I was trying to kill the plants.” Logan chuckled with mock indignation as he remembered his boyhood chores. Hard to believe, given that he now heads Urban Arborists, his thriving company that cares for trees on rooftops, in private yards, and surrounding beloved New York institutions such as Madison Square Park, Battery Park, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Starting April 29, the iconic dome of the 117-year-old, glass-and-steel Enid A. Haupt Conservatory will undergo restoration in accordance with routine maintenance and operations of the Garden’s facilities. The great Conservatory, the centerpiece and symbol of NYBG, is the preeminent existing American example of the crystal palace glass-and-steel school of design developed in England and Ireland in the mid-19th century. It is the most important glasshouse in the country and one of the most beautiful in the world. Shortly after the Garden’s founding by eminent botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton and his wife, bryologist Elizabeth Knight Britton, the Board of Trustees authorized the building of the Conservatory, which has required constant maintenance and repair due to the tenuous balance of glass, wood, and metals subject to the heat and moisture required by indoor plants and the constantly changing external weather conditions of New York.
Lisa Whitmer is the Director of Adult Education at The New York Botanical Garden.
Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, OLIN
Since the earliest urban public parks and gardens were built, visitors have enjoyed these green spaces, and paused—to appreciate a bit of shade, admire a view, or watch an endless parade of fellow city-dwellers. But it is probable that very few have paused to consider how such places were created, and how all the design decisions made by landscape architects—about the shape of spaces, the slope of the land, the use of light, shade and water, the choice of plants and paving materials, and even the placement of benches—foster our sense of comfort and pleasure in these places.
The goal of the Garden’s annual Landscape Design Portfolios Series is to share this knowledge of the design process through presentations of current work by outstanding landscape architects practicing around the world today. Each fall for the past 20 years, The New York Botanical Garden has provided a public forum for landscape architects and designers to discuss the projects that continue to enhance our lives.
In September 2017, the New York State Attorney General announced that four non-profit organizations had been selected to demonstrate the benefits of battery-powered electric delivery trucks. Named E-Cubed, the innovative project highlights the economic, efficiency, and environmental advantages that all-electric delivery trucks have for New Yorkers. Along with the Wildlife Conservation Society, Habitat for Humanity NYC, and the Big Reuse, The New York Botanical Garden was chosen through a competitive application process to participate in this new program.
On August 29, 2018, the Garden received the first delivery of the new all-electric truck. The charging station, provided by ChargePoint Inc., has been located near the Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory loading dock because of its proximity to available electrical power, ease of installation, and available parking. NYBG will be receiving an additional all-electric rack body truck with a lift gate. Produced by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck, a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks, both of these zero-emission vehicles will be used to support core operations and services. With a 75-mile range per overnight charge, they will help to reduce traffic-related soot pollution, create economic and environmental efficiencies, and provide a cost-effective alternative to combustion engines to create a greener New York. The initial lease will be funded for a two-year period and all costs associated with the lease and charging station have been paid for by the Attorney General’s office.
This article originally appeared as part of a series on responsible citizenry in the 2018–2019 issue of Garden News, NYBG’s seasonal newsletter. For further reading, view the issue online and discover a sampling of stories about our current efforts and activities that promote, engage, and support active and responsible citizenry on local, regional, and global levels.
On November 15, 2018, J. Barclay Collins II was elected Chairman of the Board of The New York Botanical Garden. He also currently serves as Chairman of the Executive Committee. He has been a longtime distinguished senior executive in the energy business.
Lisa Synoradzki is Senior Development Officer at The New York Botanical Garden.
In Oaxaca Journal, renowned neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks, M.D., remarks on the contributions that amateurs provide to field science: “A special power of observing and remembering particulars, a special memory for places…a lyrical feeling for nature.” Such is a naturalist I learned in NYBG’s Urban Naturalist Certificate Program. Courses provided a solid grounding on New York City’s plants, birds, and insects; their interactions; how they relate on the Tree of Life; and the ecology of their habitats.
Field trips on Garden grounds and to Pelham Bay and Van Cortlandt Parks were chances for our class to practice identification skills and record nature. We learned to identify a sign of forest succession in a meadow—a small grove of sapling sassafras trees, notice the pollination strategies of ephemeral spring beauty flowers—pink lines on white petals that point to nectar, and reflect on the success of American woodcocks in persisting in disturbed areas as we saw them ascend for sky dances at dusk.
As part of the Program, we were asked to create an ecological portrait of a patch in nature. I chose Welwyn Preserve in Glen Cove, Long Island, known for its magnificent, mature forest of tulip trees that are being threatened by storm damage, neglect, and an onslaught of invasive species. I documented Welwyn’s flora and fauna, its natural history and condition today, and the potential for restoration. My project led to an invitation from the Long Island Botanical Society (LIBS) to write an article for its newsletter, a presentation for LIBS members, and a nomination to the board of the Torrey Botanical Society. NYBG’s Urban Naturalist Program gave me the training and confidence to communicate about and advocate for the nature I love.
This article originally appeared as part of a series on responsible citizenry in the 2018–2019 issue of Garden News, NYBG’s seasonal newsletter. For further reading, view the issue online and discover a sampling of stories about our current efforts and activities that promote, engage, and support active and responsible citizenry on local, regional, and global levels.
Ursula Chanse is the Director of Bronx Green-Up and Community Horticulture at The New York Botanical Garden.
What do rubble-strewn vacant lots, asphalt-covered playgrounds, tiny tracts of land wedged between intersections and train tracks have in common? Each is a perfect location for creating a community garden and urban farm. For 30 years Bronx Green-Up, NYBG’s community gardening outreach program, has worked together with our community partners to create vibrant gardens in the most unlikely spaces.
Jodie Colón is the Compost Project Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.
Although silver traditionally marks a 25th anniversary, may we suggest gold for ours? Black gold, that is! Specifically, the rich, dark compost made by Bronx residents of all ages trained by the NYC Compost Project at NYBG since 1993.
At that time, as it still is today, food scraps and yard trimmings comprised nearly one-third of what New Yorkers discarded. The NYC Department of Sanitation began funding NYBG Bronx Green-Up staff to engage local residents and our community and school gardeners in composting those materials as a way to reduce waste and revive urban soils.
How long have you been a NYBG volunteer and what was the inspiration for becoming one?
I have been volunteering at NYBG for more than 25 years and have worked in many areas, including the Native Plant Garden, Perennial Garden, and the Nolen Greenhouses. I joined as a volunteer after seeing a mention of the NYBG Volunteer program in the brochure for an evening concert that my wife and I attended many years ago.
Jessica Arcate Schuler is the Director of the Thain Family Forest at The New York Botanical Garden.
Many gardeners view their gardens as separate and isolated from the larger landscape. In reality, the larger landscape is a connected patchwork of ecosystems that support life. Having an invasive species in our garden does impact a local natural area, planting a diversity of plants including native species benefits wildlife, efficiently managing stormwater, fertilizer, plant health, compost and water use determine a garden’s resilience.
“We already know how to live sustainably with woodlands. That’s what we did for almost 10 millennia! We need to re-create a relationship with trees that is based on grateful exchange rather than exploitation.” Arborist and NYBG instructor William Bryant Logan’s hope for the future is palpable and underpins his newly published book, Sprout Lands: Tending the Endless Gift of Trees. Beautifully written and grounded in science and culture, Sprout Lands explores what we can learn from the ways in which people around the world traditionally cared for trees, accepting what they offered—wood for charcoal, animal feed, building materials—while ensuring they sprouted again.
