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The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island Launch­es Gov­er­nors Island Nature

Oct 26, 2023 5:11 pm

The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island today announced Gov­er­nors Island Nature, a new ini­tia­tive that will dra­mat­i­cal­ly expand vis­i­tor engage­ment with the Island’s 120 acres of nat­ur­al and built open spaces. Through learn­ing, pub­lic pro­grams, and com­mu­ni­ty sci­ence, Gov­er­nors Island Nature will edu­cate Island vis­i­tors and all New York­ers about hor­ti­cul­ture, bio­di­ver­si­ty, and the impacts of cli­mate change on our nat­ur­al surroundings. 

“Gov­er­nors Island pro­vides New York­ers with the unique oppor­tu­ni­ty to con­nect with the nat­ur­al world through a mix of his­toric and new­er green spaces,” said Clare New­man, Pres­i­dent & CEO of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“Each year, near­ly one mil­lion New York­ers expe­ri­ence the Island’s incred­i­ble his­toric, cul­tur­al, edu­ca­tion­al, and recre­ation­al resources, and we are excit­ed for the oppor­tu­ni­ty to enhance the vis­i­tor expe­ri­ence through Gov­er­nors Island Nature.” 

“We are firm believ­ers that any­one can devel­op mean­ing­ful con­nec­tions to nature, even — or espe­cial­ly — in the heart of New York City,” said Logan Fish­er, Hor­ti­cul­ture Super­vi­sor at the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“Through Gov­er­nors Island Nature, we will all be able to come togeth­er to under­stand our shared eco­log­i­cal respon­si­bil­i­ty, inter­act with Island wildlife in a mean­ing­ful way, and par­tic­i­pate in native habi­tat cul­ti­va­tion through com­mu­ni­ty sci­ence and volunteering.” 

The pro­gram will launch with a free pub­lic kick­off event in Nolan Park on Gov­er­nors Island on Sat­ur­day, Novem­ber 4, 2023, from 12 to 3pm fea­tur­ing a lec­ture by Dr. Steven Han­del, pro­fes­sor Dis­tin­guished Pro­fes­sor of Ecol­o­gy and Evo­lu­tion Emer­i­tus at Rut­gers Uni­ver­si­ty, focused on the real­i­ties of habi­tat restora­tion in urban areas fol­lowed by a Q&A mod­er­at­ed by the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island hor­ti­cul­ture team along with an inter­ac­tive seed ball work­shop and arborist-led fall foliage tour of the Island’s vast tree canopy. 

Through Gov­er­nors Island Nature, the Trust will present reg­u­lar free events and activ­i­ties, includ­ing month­ly nature walks, insect ecol­o­gy class­es, com­mu­ni­ty sci­ence events, and vol­un­teer stew­ard­ship. These pro­grams are accom­pa­nied by a new suite of dig­i­tal con­tent at www​.gov​is​land​.org/​n​ature that fea­tures in-depth infor­ma­tion on the Island’s diverse nat­ur­al areas and the eco­log­i­cal hor­ti­cul­ture prac­tices employed, an inter­ac­tive map of the Island’s 3,500+ trees that allows vis­i­tors to explore species infor­ma­tion and ecosys­tem ben­e­fits, and a ​“Plant Watch” page that high­lights sea­son­al plants through­out the Island.