Botanical Walk and New Discoveries with NYCWildFlowerWeek.org

New York City and the people I meet who love and breath it like I do, never, ever cease to amaze me. I love it.

On one perfect Saturday morning, we headed over to Inwood Hill Park, which looked a lot different than it did since our last visit there, and is now showing all the signs of  the lush, green forest that it is (the largest remaining in Manhattan).

We were on our way to meet Marielle Anzelone, a conservation biologist and founder of NYC Wildflower Week, which she defines as “an organization that offers free programs to get New Yorkers out to nature in the Big Apple”.

Marielle was hosting a free Botanical Tour in Inwood Hill Park which was meant to educate us on the various plant life, the city’s oldest trees, flowers in this wonderful urban forest and the island’s only remaining salt marsh.

I wasn’t sure how the boys were going to manage, but I figured how much damage can they do in a park?

Immediately upon the starting of the tour, Marielle demonstrated an incredible wealth of knowledge about the city’s ecological history and its biodiversity. I was definitely the odd man out in this group of “tree and plant” experts, but everyone was incredibly patient with my questions and very sweet with the kids. I suppose when you are someone who is so passionate about plants and flowers and all that evolves around that, you must be a nice person too, right?

Just as quickly, I started learning a lot about indigenous versus invasive plants – like, did you know that most of those really pretty plants we so adore, like lavender, are actually harmful to the natural, native plants of the area because they tend to take over and essentially bully out many of the plants that were actually meant to be here?

I learned to spot poison ivy  - their leaves are made up of leaflets of three and are often surrounded by a hairy vine (see picture below).

I learned one of our natural trees, the maple, is actually struggling to survive because of changes in our local environment and many are dying out.

I learned that worms, though great for gardening, are awful for forests – again, because they are not native to the East Coast –  they tend to absorb all the minerals in the dirt needed for a forest to grow, as well as take over the role of many of the native insects.

I (saw) and learned that there are tons of Mulberry trees in Inwood – those black berry looking berries that have been dropping on the sidewalks and streets uptown – and that they are edible.

I saw a forest full of trees, many over 150 years old, and suddenly, as I learned, I craved to know more, for what seemed to be “just another city park” on any other day, suddenly became a vast land full of things to see and explore.

As for my boys, well, after about 2 hours we had to leave the group, but during that time they were busy playing with insects and sticks, picking up worms, ladybugs, and asking tons of questions, all which Marielle answered with as much ease as she did when the adults asked them.

I know some may think a walk through a park learning about plants and flowers might sound dull if your aren’t “into” that sort of stuff, but I swear, as little as I know about it all, I was completely fascinated.

Learning about the differences between native and non-native plants was also enlightening. We don’t often think how plants that aren’t indigenous to these grounds, or any where we may live can affect, damage or completely destroy the ecological environment of a place. I think if there is just one important thing that I learned from this day, that stuck with me the most, is the need to pay attention and to plant responsibly.

Even projects, such as the Million Trees project, with its great intentions lacks the necessary resources to effectively manage and conserve, and even at times responsibly plant, the very many trees that they do.

As we become more aware and more passionate about ways to conserve and preserve our green environment in NYC and throughout the country, I really think these are things we need to be aware of. It’s not just about planting that pretty flower, it’s about educating ourselves enough to know how that flower or plant will affect the environment around it. There is a lot of research going on about the Conservation of Native Plants in NYC and wilderness preservation as well.

I highly encourage you to check out the NYC Wild Flower Week website. They don’t host events every weekend, but when they do they are posted there. You can also follow them on Facebook and/or twitter @NYCWW.

I walked away from my botanical walk with Marielle feeling a little smaller in this world having just realized the grandiosity of all that surrounded me that day. My children walked away completely elated over the amount of bugs, rocks, and sticks they collect along the way.

Looking forward to another walk soon, excited to have seen my city from a new perspective.

The NYCWW events are free and open to the public.

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Tags: family friendly, free activities, nyc parks
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