We’ve been working weekends to get these ol’ bamboo poles looking like Zelda. Here are some recent photos of urban farm fence construction.
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Category Archives: Projects
Zelda in "Zelda"!
The soil’s been delivered and here we are making our bird-shaped berms. This view from One Battery Park Plaza shows us just how big this farm will be! (That’s Castle Clinton National Monument in the top-right corner and the vast New York Harbor is just beyond.)
For our first post, we’d like to share some images of our site, where the soil has just started to arrive this morning!
From Monday to Saturday next week (March 21-26) we will be moving the soil and forming the planting rows.
We need lots of help! If you would like to join us, take a look at our Volunteer Flyer. You bring the enthusiasm (and the muscles), we’ll bring the shovels and rakes. Please feel free to pass the flyer along or post it for people or groups you think might be interested.
To view/print, click this link: Volunteering for the Urban Farm at The Battery, March 2011
If you live or work within walking or biking distance you are welcome to become one of our neighborhood urban farmers and plant your own vegetables!
If you have questions or would like to become an Urban Farmer, please write to Camilla at urbanfarm@thebattery.org
Thanks and Happy Growing!
A spectacular fence by designer Scott Dougan salutes our beloved Zelda, the American turkey who arrived in the park in 2003, as we opened the first perennial gardens. The fowl's fantastic fence protects the farm with 5,000 repurposed bamboo poles generously donated by artists Mike and Doug Starn following their exhibition, Big Bambú, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Battery Conservancy is so excited to be starting the park’s first urban farm. We’ll be blogging to keep you up-to-date on our progress, so check back often!
We hope you’ll join us in achieving our five goals for the farm:
- Provide an Outdoor Classroom to Inspire Student Farmers
- Promote Healthy Eating
- Enhance Soil Quality
- Foster a Strong Downtown Community
- Honor the Past, Build the Future
For more information, click here: Urban Farm at the Battery PDF.
Amid snow drifts, WXY‘s sculptural Zipper Bench is being installed on Peter Minuit Plaza … Here’s a sneak peak photo:
The Battery News Fall 2010 edition is here! Click to read about TBC’s progress at the Battery, including updates on Peter Minuit Plaza, 2010 events and more!
Bronze Relief, 1660 Castello Map
Members of the Dutch parliament with artists Simon Verity and Martha Becker Finney (Center)
On October 22, members of the Dutch parliament visited Peter Minuit Plaza and toured the final construction phase of the New Amsterdam Pavilion. It became a historic day as artists Simon Verity and Martha Becker Finney were installing the grand, bird’s eye view bronze relief of the 1660 Castello Map of New Amsterdam. All 317 houses are delineated, many with the gardens and orchards that supplied the food to sustain the first settlement.
The relief will be officially unveiled in Spring 2011 with the opening of the New Amsterdam Pavilion welcome center and kiosk!
Close-up of New Amsterdam's houses, gardens, farm plots, stores, taverns and breweries
Close-up of Fort Amsterdam, 1660
The perimeter, now in final design:
- 107 trees.
- Lush perennials and shrubs create undulating borders for the Battery Garden Bikeway.
- The Battery Bikeway links Hudson River Park to the East River Esplanade.
- The grand oval Battery Green hosts 10,000 people for outdoor gatherings and concerts.
- Walk the 1/4 mile path around the Battery Green for good health.
- Passive recreation and temporary educational exhibits are planned for the Woodlawn.
- Ten monuments located along the perimeter will form the Battery Monument Walk.
- The Bike Respite offers bike racks, water, air, and a place to rest.
- The existing Comfort Station will undergo a renovation and redesign.
- New signage welcomes the park visitor.