LSP Environmental Studies Community Event Reports

Taryn Gregory

Environmental Studies 12:30-1:45

On November 30, at 1 pm, I went to Prospect Park in Brooklyn to go on a walk to learn about forest pathology from the Urban Park Rangers. We all met up outside the Audubon Center. The group mostly consisted of middle aged or older couples and parents with their kids. The tone of the event was more in the theme of nature appreciation with a little bit of education. It was more about interacting with nature than learning about it. It was aimed towards people that appreciate the aesthetic appeal of nature.

The event itself consisted of us taking a walking tour of the park and discussing the diseases that can harm nature and mar our appreciation of it. The ranger told us of diseases that are common primarily in the United States, such as the American Chestnut Blight or Anthracnose Diseases, which is particularly problematic in New York City. We continued to walk through the park, examining the barren Cherry Trees and admiring nature in the middle of an urban environment. As part of this, we took a closer look at some of the problems of these trees, examining ones with black knots and one with a bacterial canker that might have to be cut down. Because of the cold, there was fairly little animal activity.

Our group was relatively quiet, listening attentively to the ranger when he talked, but really just enjoying the park on a cold winter day. Occasionally, one of the older participants would ask a question about the active prevention being done or how to treat the illness, but mostly people were quiet. Generally, we were all enjoying the walking part of the tour much more than the informational aspect.

For me, this was a new experience. I like to go on nature walks, but I’d never even heard of forest pathology. The true learning experience for me was being able to identify sick trees by sight. I thought the experience was fairly informative. It was more of an informational walk than anything else; while it did teach me some things about tree and plant health, it didn’t really peak my interest or spark further inquiry. Overall, I found the experience okay. There was a lot more that could have been discussed and there was very little discussion about the impact on the environment due to time. For a person who likes to understand what they see in nature, this would have been more worthwhile.