The Chelsea High Line is a park located on an elevated railroad track, running along 10th Avenue between 14th street and 34th street. Due to the fact that I’ve never visited the high Line before I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I couldn’t help but wonder how an entire ecosystem would be able to survive in an area dominated by development and the uprooting of natural ecosystems. However, as I stepped onto that platform I was amazed to witness how in a matter of a few steps I could be transferred from a city that is in constant motion, to one that exemplifies the very meaning of serenity, beauty and nature. During my visit on September 20th, I noticed that different varieties of bees were the pollinators that were in the largest abundance. Although there was a little breeze during my visit, I couldn’t help but notice that at every patch of flowers there happened to be a few bees pollinating the plants.
The High Line seems to be a perfect example of what Emma Marris refers to in her book as a “Rambunctious Garden.” Unlike the efforts of the conservations to make a distinction and separation between nature and human interaction, the High Line strives to combine the two into an ecosystem where nature and man can coexist and live together in harmony. Instead of constricting nature to reserves in order to create “pristine” ecosystem, Marris points out that we should allow nature to adapt to its modern day habitats. In the second chapter of her book, “Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post Wild World,” Marris states “Conservation can happen in parks, on farms, in the strips of land attached to rest stops and fast-food joints, in your backyard, on your roof, even in city traffic circles. Rambunctious gardening is proactive and optimistic; it creates more and more nature as it goes, rather than just building walls around the nature we have left.” Instead of forcing nature to become how we believe it should be, we must allow it to form in its own way. The High Line is a perfect example of nature adapting to its surroundings and with the assistance of many pollinators, such as bumble bees and honey bees, the High Line is able to flourish and survive as a natural ecosystem.
In his article, “The Flora of the High Line,” Richard Stalter provides further information as to why the High Line can be classified as a “Rambunctious Garden.” Stalter mentions that the High Line has a greater species richness and abundance than many other areas in New York, including Ellis Island, Liberty Island and Bayswater State Park. I found it very hard to believe, however at the same time amazing, that an ecosystem as successful as this could survive in an urban area as advanced as the heart of New York City. It really goes to prove the fact that we don’t have to isolate nature from human interaction in order for it to thrive.
