Exploring the High Line this week was a truly eye-opening experience for me, especially being that I had never gone there before. My first impression was that while the elevated park seemed to be well maintained by humans, it also appeared to be an entity in and of itself. The High Line seemed to be more “wild” than other parks I had visited. The plants seemed to be growing in a manner that was less concerned with aesthetics, but more of a natural pattern for them to grow. Some species were even growing out onto the pathway and interfering with human traffic. This was a stark contrast to the seemingly permanent and definite lines between “nature” and “humanity” seen in other parks. There seems to always be a clear boundary between walking paths and nature in other parks, while at the High Line the boundary seemed to be skewed in places. Another thing that struck me about the High Line was the presence of the old railroad tracks. It was interesting to see how the wildlife had taken over these relics of days gone by and grown around and in some cases even through the tracks. I think the High Line overall, and especially the case of the railroad tracks, relates to Emma Marris’ concept of a “Rambunctious Garden.” By definition, something is rambunctious if it is lively and high-spirited. I think that Marris is using this word in the sense that her concept of nature is life in places you would least expect it. Nature doesn’t have to be a pristine forest untouched by human hands, but can be an elevated park, with various plants growing around man-made objects such as railroad tracks.
One of my first impressions of the High Line was that while it was a really interesting place, there seemed to be a lack of variety in the species there. I walked the entire length of the path and felt that a majority of the wildlife looked quite similar. I was surprised when I read the Stalter article to learn that the High Line is one of the most diverse areas of New York City. There are more species per hectare on the High Line than on Ellis Island, Liberty Island, and Bayswater State Park. This was even more impressive when I thought about how hard it must be for species to adapt to such a different environment like the High Line. For there to be more species there than in some of the most well-known “nature” areas of the city is quite remarkable.
Along my journey through the High Line I took note of any native pollinators I saw. For the most part there seemed to be high quantities of bumblebees wherever there was a patch of flowers. The bumblebee community seemed to be spread across the length of the High Line. I also noticed some type of beetle towards the southern part of the park. They were orange and black in color and at one point about 50 were swarmed onto a single plant. I’m not sure how much pollinating these creatures do as it was unclear if they could fly, but I found it interesting that there was a cluster of so many of them.
