In the book Rambunctious Garden, Emma Marris criticizes that many conservationists approached conservation in a misleading way. Marris believes that there are no such things as pristine nature. There are evidences of human influences everywhere in the world. I think that the High Line fits into the concept of Marris’ rambunctious garden because it is heavily shaped by human, and yet still have its unique natural characteristics. According to Stalter, human visitors to the High Line accidentally bought seeds and different soils to the site, it creates various habitats for different species to live in. Other human influences such as “trampling and cutting vegetation, and the smothering of plants by debris such as tires, bottles and additional trash (Stalter 387)” also play an important role of soil composition and species diversities in the High Line.
The High Line used to be an elevated commercial railroad from 1934 to 1980. It sketches from 13th and 34th street between 10th and 11th Avenue. However, the 1950s Interstate Highway System decreased the rail freight on the High Line. The High Line rails were abandoned in 1980. Friends of the High Line, which is a non-profit organization, proposed to transform the rail lines into a pedestrian walkway. During the primary succession lichens, bryophytes, forbs, grasses and some other vegetation started to appear. Then with the growing and dying of the mosses, lichens and grasses, the soil composition become richer, which allows more species to better flourish themselves (Stalter, 387-388).
During my first visit to the High Line I was impressed by its species richness. I visited t
he High Line on last Tuesday; it was windy and rainy. I saw all different colors of flowers, fruits, and trees. As what Stalter reported in his paper, “the vascular flora at the High Line consisted of 161 species in 122 genera in 48 families (Stalter 388).” It is amazing that this human-made strip of nature is right in the city. I also saw a lot of pollinators like honeybees, bumblebees, butterflies and etc. It was a worthwhile trip to the High Line; I can see all different types of flora without travelling outside of the city.
I believe that the High Line supports Marris’ concept of rambunctious garden, because it is not pristine, but still have its unique beauty. According to Stalter, compare to Haffman/Swinburne Island, Bayswater State Park, Liberty and Ellis Island, the High Line has the greatest number of species. Also, “The High Line may have one of the highest levels of species richness of any temperate zone urban environment in the region (Stalter, 389).” Although many conservationists believe in pristine nature, and that nature should be kept away from human interference; the High Line proves that human and nature can be coexist, and create this strip of nature with the most species diversities.
