we began the day volunteering with the gowanus canal conservancy.
their goal for today's work was to install planter boxes full of a native wildflower mix to provide a unifying element of beauty and micro-habitat areas. using perennials as ornamentals, they hope to suggest ways of using native plants to passers by. the planters themselves were made of recycled materials.
planters were already in place, and from start to finish our duties to complete this task were: to fill the bottom 6" of every planter with sand --> fill most of the rest with soil that the conservancy has made over time from collected foodscraps that are composted, as well as other sources of soil --> place perennials in --> fill around with compacted soil. we then weeded existing tree wells.
the entire street looked great after we were done for the day. it looks like someone cares about it! this exercise helps to deepen my understanding of ecological citizenship, wherein people come together to do things together for a truly greater good, true contribution as a society. i think i saw it happen firsthand today- people getting together for some slightly abstract reason today, and leaving with the solidity of knowing that they DID something that, while beneficial and a great way to spend a saturday morning in its own right, benefits lives other than their own [in this case, bugs']. being around energetic young people who organized the event was refreshing, as well!
the scale of our intervention was small, but it speaks to big ideas and is part of the much larger body of interventions that the gowanus canal conservancy is implementing- here are some of the things they are doing this season.
their goal for today's work was to install planter boxes full of a native wildflower mix to provide a unifying element of beauty and micro-habitat areas. using perennials as ornamentals, they hope to suggest ways of using native plants to passers by. the planters themselves were made of recycled materials.
planters were already in place, and from start to finish our duties to complete this task were: to fill the bottom 6" of every planter with sand --> fill most of the rest with soil that the conservancy has made over time from collected foodscraps that are composted, as well as other sources of soil --> place perennials in --> fill around with compacted soil. we then weeded existing tree wells.
the entire street looked great after we were done for the day. it looks like someone cares about it! this exercise helps to deepen my understanding of ecological citizenship, wherein people come together to do things together for a truly greater good, true contribution as a society. i think i saw it happen firsthand today- people getting together for some slightly abstract reason today, and leaving with the solidity of knowing that they DID something that, while beneficial and a great way to spend a saturday morning in its own right, benefits lives other than their own [in this case, bugs']. being around energetic young people who organized the event was refreshing, as well!
the scale of our intervention was small, but it speaks to big ideas and is part of the much larger body of interventions that the gowanus canal conservancy is implementing- here are some of the things they are doing this season.
i made this pan shot by walking down 9 street. i pass through people's conversations, and pass the planters we helped to establish. [i also make a passing comment, mostly to myself].
then, we rode buses through brooklyn, on flatbush ave. this pan shot was taken from the bus window, looking out at the landscape we [routinely] pass through. i took this video in an attempt to highlight the difference between the conditions in most of brooklyn versus the conditions we would find at the gateway area.
we rented bikes at jacob riis park [right on the beach!] and rode to floyd bennet field, via a few bridges. we managed to somewhat stick together as a group during our considerably long bike ride. it was so awesome!
the airfield was in a relative state of disrepair, which was sort of exciting. i am glad to see any area whose former life has passed be opened to the public so that they can make sense of what it was, and how it is to be there now. these are fundamental design questions!
the spatial experience of being on the bike was unlike any i have had. the pace and setting of our ride was different than my more routine bike commutes, and we were in designated bike lanes for most of the trip, safely away from cars! the cruiser-style bike was so easy to ride, weightless compared to the miles of pavement we've been hitting. i loved riding the bikes across what used to be air strips, with their odd angles and straight lines, surrounded by areas that have been taken over by resident plant species.
to recognize the manhattan skyline and brooklyn bridge on the horizon, to see the planes full of people coming from and going to places all around the world just across the water, the juxtaposition of relative proximity to new york city with the practice of 'rough' camping, flocks of birds making their homes for the evening, the atlantic ocean waves stretching for miles- all made for an incredibly rich experience. i shall return!
in terms of scale, the gateway area was vast- and i am small! and i can make small changes [as we did this morning with the gowanus planters], and meanwhile i can make an effort to comprehend and be comfortable living within massive complexity.
the airfield was in a relative state of disrepair, which was sort of exciting. i am glad to see any area whose former life has passed be opened to the public so that they can make sense of what it was, and how it is to be there now. these are fundamental design questions!
the spatial experience of being on the bike was unlike any i have had. the pace and setting of our ride was different than my more routine bike commutes, and we were in designated bike lanes for most of the trip, safely away from cars! the cruiser-style bike was so easy to ride, weightless compared to the miles of pavement we've been hitting. i loved riding the bikes across what used to be air strips, with their odd angles and straight lines, surrounded by areas that have been taken over by resident plant species.
to recognize the manhattan skyline and brooklyn bridge on the horizon, to see the planes full of people coming from and going to places all around the world just across the water, the juxtaposition of relative proximity to new york city with the practice of 'rough' camping, flocks of birds making their homes for the evening, the atlantic ocean waves stretching for miles- all made for an incredibly rich experience. i shall return!
in terms of scale, the gateway area was vast- and i am small! and i can make small changes [as we did this morning with the gowanus planters], and meanwhile i can make an effort to comprehend and be comfortable living within massive complexity.
this pan shot was taken from the seat of one of the bikes we rented for the day, riding on the former air strip that has become a much wilder place, with other members of the class ahead of me.