Looking Back: November 2011
Posted in Around the Garden on January 1 2012, by Matt Newman
After October’s storm and the following clean-up period, we hopped right into November’s seasonal preparations with the Holiday Train Show. Our kiku bid a fond “adieu” as they made room in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory for New York’s most cherished winter tradition. And did I mention the leaves on the trees? Fall had arrived–loud, clear, and bursting with the warmest hues.
Paul Busse and his team at Applied Imagination are nothing if they’re not diligent (and brilliantly creative). Setting up the Holiday Train Show takes no small amount of time or ingenuity, and for the last 20 years they have continued to produce one of New York’s most delightful holiday experiences. This year, we set up a time-lapse camera in the Conservatory so our readers could get a better idea of just how the whole process goes down.
Changing Seasons in the Conservatory
Our literary audio tours project drew artists from around the city to tell the story of the natural world in prose and verse. November saw the likes of Camille Rankine, Paul Lisicky, and Hosannah Asuncion adding thoughtful flavor to our collections through their own distinctly different inspirations.
Poetry and Prose at the Garden with Literary Audio Tours
Member and friend of the Garden Patricia Gonzalez has a long-lived passion for birds–particularly raptors–and you might be surprised at just how varied the avian population is here at the NYBG. As a Bronx native, Pat has followed the lives of one particular pair of red-tailed hawks through tribulation and hilarity. Thankfully, this chapter of the story is almost entirely the latter–here, two of their offspring ham it up for Pat’s camera.
After several years of careful restoration and revitalization, our Forest finally reopened in November, causing a celebration with music, food, and plenty of the autumn color the northeast is so well-known for. And did I mention there were banjos? Yeah. There were banjos.
Forest Dedication Opens with Sun and Color
Dr. Michael Balick and Dr. Wayne Law have–combined–spent over ten years studying the ecosystems of Micronesia, in an attempt to not only better understand their importance, but to protect them from further damage. In November, the pair penned a piece for us that better explained the work they’re doing abroad. As with so many endangered environments throughout the world, education and preservation are the keys to saving what we have.
A Commitment to Island Conservation: An NYBG Partnership in the Pacific
It’s not too late to help support The New York Botanical Garden in efforts like these before the year is out. Your gift contributes to the preservation, education, and cultivation of the natural world. Become a part of our 120-year history.
The Year in Review: 2011
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December