Stewardship of Central Park's Woodlands Conference, Oct. 5, 2012

The Upper East Side of Manhattan Island now and then, with a corner of Central Park in view. When the Lenape Indians lived on Mannahatta ("land of many hills") there were some 570 hills, 60 miles of streams, 20 ponds and over 300 springs. The Lenape encountered wolves, black bears, mountain lions and beavers. Today, there are 230 bird species in the Central Parks woodlands.
Image: Markley Boyer, Mannahatta Project/Wildlife Conservation Society

The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) and the Central Park Conservancy (CPC) will host a one-day conference titled “Bridging the Nature-Culture Divide II: Stewardship of Central Park's Woodlands,” Oct. 5, 2012 at the Museum of the City of New York.

The conference, presented by Charles Birnbaum, TCLF founder/president, and Lane Addonizio, CPC associate vice president for planning, will feature speakers in the fields of landscape architecture and environmental design discussing the nature and culture of Central Park's woodlands.

The Central Park woodlands are a historically significant designed landscape. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, of course, were the original designers, but Samuel Parsons Jr., Michael Rapuano and Gilmore Clarke added refining touches.

The conference will include an October 6-7 “What's Out There Weekend New York,” free expert led tours of parks and opens spaces in all the city's five boroughs.

Central Park, and New York City in general, suffered during the city's financial crises in the 1970s. The park was in poor condition, with extensive erosion and overrun with invasive vegetation. The Central Park Conservancy, a private, not-for-profit organization created in 1980, has worked since then to restore the city’s treasured icon.

For more information on the conference, visit http://tclf.org