Category: Ecology & Sustainability

Field Notes

Riverside Park Conservancy launches “More Trees, Less Trash”

Experts Margaret Bracken and John Herrold answer questions about the Conservancy’s latest tree initiative.
Field Notes

Fires Threaten Olmsted & Vaux’s Prospect Park 

As drought conditions grip New York City, Prospect Park Alliance contends with the recent blazes in Brooklyn’s Backyard.
Field Notes

Battered, Biltmore Rises 

As the Asheville, NC, region struggles to recover from the unparalleled devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, America’s largest home offers its neighbors aid.
Field Notes

A waterfall flows again in Harlem 

The restoration of a cherished cascade in New York City’s Morningside Park unites city officials, neighbors and Columbia University staff and students.
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.