A wasp
The High Line on the West side in Manhattan has an abundance of nature, as evidenced by my visit there and Stalter’s report on the ecology there. Even though it was starting to rain and very windy, I could still find several different pollinators around the plants on the High Line. Because of the wide array of nature interacting with humans in the middle of the city, the High Line displays Marris’ concept of a Rambunctious Garden.
A bee
I had gone to the High Line several years prior but I had never noticed the variety and extensiveness of the plant fauna there since I was only interested in the interesting architecture surrounding it. Walking through the High Line I noticed a very large range of plants and flowers which I did not expect to see in the city. I was surprised by the dense areas of plants which were thriving on the High Line. Many pollinators seemed to like one certain type of plant and I found a variety of different bees or flies mainly around them. I think I saw a couple of different bees and perhaps a wasp, as well as flies and some other unknown insects. I also spotted several birds and a few butterflies but I was unable to capture a picture of them since they flew away rather quickly. Along with the nature there is also a lot of human traffic. There are many tourists there and the variety of people visiting the High Line is also very diverse.
A bee
Another bee
Some sort of insect
Stalter confirms in his article and report that there is a very large variety of plant life and species at the High Line. He discovered a total of 161 species there, with 82 native and 79 introduced. Stalter goes on to describe how the “species richness at the High Line is greater than species richness at four nearby New York City sites.” Stalter also concludes that one factor for the high diversity of species at the High Line is human disturbances. This supports Marris’ idea of the rambunctious garden. Marris talks about how all nature is affected by humans and how well nature can adapt to human interference. The High Line is a great example of this. Disturbances by humans brought a lot of the plant life to the High Line, which in turn may have attracted the many pollinators that are there currently. The High Line is not a “pristine” or untouched portion of nature. On the contrary, the High Line was originally an abandoned railroad track and over time it grew into the urban ecological system it now is. Nature is clearly thriving in the area while still interacting and adapting to the constant human traffic that visits the High Line each day. The High Line is truly a rambunctious garden in the city.
A fly
Me at the High Line (third from the right)
