My very own rambunctious garden, right in my backyard—who would’ve thought? The Highline, a converted elevated railway track on Tenth Avenue between Gansevoort Street and West 34th, is an unexpected strip of nature in our concrete jungle. Once I walked up the steel steps overlooking the brick buildings that surround it, the Highline instantaneously transported me to a different place entirely. This walk of flora is home to various birds and bees, plants and pollinators. The variety of flowers and plants attract a diverse population of bees and insects—all of which buzzed freely among the greenery and around our heads.
In regard to Emma Marris’ idea of a “Rambunctious Garden,” I believe The Highline is just that. This strip of nature epitomizes the anthropocene that Marris discusses in her novel. Nature and humanity interact at the Highline, which not only exemplifies an anthropocene, but urban ecology. Not only is this area an attraction to tourists and residents for its aesthetic appeal, but this anthropocenic environment is medicinal to us city-dwellers looking for a little wildlife. This rambunctious garden was manmade, sure, but that’s beside the point. What matters most about The Highline is its function as a place for people to conserve and connect with nature.
Though I understand Richard Stalter’s argument about the transformation of The Highline’s natural evolutionary development during its days of abandonment, I don’t believe that the manmade garden was necessarily detrimental in any way. Stalter, in my opinion, comes off as one of the more extreme or intense conservationists who favor a laissez-faire ecosystem. I, on the other hand, acknowledge that an untouched area like the once-abandoned railway may have boasted more ecological or bio-diversity, but its functionality was zero to none. The interaction, or “engineering”, of the environment by man may be unnatural to an extent, but it’s a modern concept that allowed for a beneficial and highly popular park in Manhattan. In this case specifically, I agree that species introduction and transportation is positive. Nature can now be better experienced and appreciated due to the introduction of plants and animals, native or not, to that railway. The Highline is an escape from our concrete jungle, that I’ll be sure to visit time and again.
