Helping Carl Schurz Park become iNaturalist-ready

Carl Schurz Park is about a mile from where I live. It's on the East River. The park includes a very nice wide promenade/esplanade right along the river's edge, because that part of the FDR highway is covered over. Also, Gracie Mansion is inside the park -- that's the historic house where the mayor of NYC lives.

The views from the esplanade in the park are really pretty. Depending where you are standing, and which way you are facing, across a large expanse of water you can see the north end of Roosevelt Island, parts of Queens, Randall's Island (which I love), and Mill Rock. The large watery expanse is where, to the west, the East River becomes the Harlem River (a narrow inlet which joins up with the Hudson River). To the east, the water is called Hell Gate, and that water can be turbulent. Hell Gate eventually joins up with Long Island Sound. It's all part of the complicated geography of the estuary of the Hudson. The water is all saltwater, estuarine habitat.

Carl Schurz Park (CSP) itself is gorgeous, very pretty indeed. It is extremely well planted with mature trees, bushes and flowers, has very interesting and varied topography, and is superbly maintained. Carl Schurz Park Conservancy (CSPC) has been improving the park for many years now, and it has become an internationally known showcase, thanks to the efforts of a large band of dedicated volunteer gardeners.

Recently I was contacted by CSPC and I have been helping them get a little more completely set up with iNaturalist. There is now a Carl Schurz Park Biodiversity Project:

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/carl-schurz-park-biodiversity-project

based on Carl Schurz Park Open Space:

https://www.inaturalist.org/places/carl-schurz-park

In NYC, every park is a de facto nature preserve, no matter how well-gardened it may be. I would encourage anyone who either lives in this area, or visits it, to come check out this lovely park and all the wild critters that live there. We are keen to get more iNat observations. Please join the Carl Schurz Park Biodiversity Project. Thank you.

I have already led one CSP simple short nature walk for the volunteer gardeners (some wild ferns, mosses and lichens), and during the warmer weather I hope to lead a few more (one on spontaneous plants, one on insects and other arthropods, and maybe one on plant pathogens.) You are welcome to join us in our attempts to lean more about what lives in, and visits, this beautiful park.

Publicerat 6 mars 2019 16.14 av susanhewitt