Category: Ecology & Sustainability

Field Notes

The Capitol’s Original Olmsted Trees

In this republished blog, the Architect of the Capitol celebrates the history of tree planting and tree preservation at the U.S. Capitol Grounds by highlighting some of the oldest trees on the grounds.
Field Notes

A Farewell to Anderson Park’s Olmsted Oak

In a violent storm, Anderson Park in New Jersey lost its elder statesman— a giant white oak that had been there since before the park opened.
Field Notes

Mythbusting: The “Trees and Crime” Myth

Our friends at Casey Trees explore the connection, or lack thereof, between neighborhood trees and crime rates.
Field Notes

Riverside Park Conservancy Completes Bird-Friendly Retrofit

Window collisions kill an estimated one billion birds across the U.S. each year. Riverside Park in New York City recently took steps to make their 100 year old Volunteer House bird-safe.
Field Notes

Biltmore: The Birthplace of American Forestry

When George Vanderbilt began planning his grand estate in Asheville, North Carolina, more than a century ago, portions of the lush forest that surround Biltmore House now once was overworked farmland and overcut woodland.
Field Notes

Chicago to Drain Park’s Vital Wetland 

Against the recommendations of the Midway Plaisance Park Advisory Council, Chicago is set to disfigure another Olmsted-designed park.
Field Notes

A Tale of Two Storms

When a 1979 tornado leveled 80% of Louisville's Cherokee Park, it launched the Olmsted Park Conservancy, but it also unleashed a new danger.
Field Notes

The Evolution of Shelburne Farms

The Olmsted Network recently welcomed Shelburne Farms for a presentation on the history and evolution of the 1,400-acre historic landscape in Vermont.
Field Notes

New Fallkill Trail in Prospect Park Opens

A new trail in Brooklyn's Prospect Park offers visitors a walk through the forest that's been behind fencing for nearly 30 years.
Field Notes

Ribbon Cutting Celebrates River Restoration for Boston’s Emerald Necklace 

On November 29, the Boston community celebrated the completion of the Muddy River Flood Risk Management Project.
Conservation & Advocacy

Olmsted parks and places adapt in the face of climate change

As landscapes contend with the realities of climate change, the Olmsted Network and our coalition of partners embrace Olmsted’s nature-based solutions.
Olmsted & the Olmsted Firm

The Olmsteds and the Development of the National Park System

Rolf Diamant— the co-author of "Olmsted and Yosemite: Civil War, Abolition, and the National Park Idea"— explores the Olmsted family's ties to the National Park Service.
Conservation & Advocacy

FLO Honored on Capitol Hill with Tree Dedication Ceremony

Recently, Congress planted a Kentucky coffeetree to memorialize Frederick Law Olmsted's powerful impact on the U.S. Capitol Grounds and America's physical and social fabric.
Conservation & Advocacy

The Olmsteds’ Conservation Legacy 

The Olmsteds' Conservation Legacy aired on C-SPAN in 2022.
Conservation & Advocacy

Midway Plaisance Advisory Council faces threatened destruction of wetland

In the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, development continues to threaten Frederick Law Olmsted’s historic parklands.