Climate Change Conversation with Prospect Park Alliance Forest Ecologist Howard Goldstein | Episode 242

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Join the conversation during Climate Week NYC with Prospect Park Alliance‘s Forest Ecologist Howard Goldstein. Howard will share insights on the unique challenges the part faces as the borough’s only forest, and what impact climate change is having the composition of the forest, the biodiversity that it supports, and the pests that threaten its health in the short- and long-term future.

>> Continue reading

Climate Week: Tackling Climate Change in Prospect Park | Episode 140

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Celebrate Climate Week NYC and learn how climate change has affected Prospect Park and other natural areas in New York City and the projections for the future, including how Prospect Park Alliance and the Natural Areas Conservancy is using the best available science to mitigate the negative effects of climate change and preserve our urban forests. We will again be joined by Prospect Park Alliance forest ecologist Howard Goldstein and Natural Areas Conservancy’s Justin Bowers, program manager for Natural Areas Restoration and the creator of Forest Identification and Restoration Selection Tool (FIRST), which helps forest restoration practitioners manage for and adapt to geographic and climate conditions.

>> Continue reading

How It’s Well Made: Woodworking with Bien Hecho | Episode 139

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Join us for a virtual visit to Bien Hecho, a woodworking business at the Brooklyn Navy Yard that specializes in making furniture, millwork, cabinetry, public street seats, and other custom woodwork from reclaimed and sustainably-sourced wood. We’ll hear the story behind John Randall’s decade-old business, and how he has salvaged and transformed scrap wood, from a Brooklyn water tower to the Coney Island boardwalk, into beautifully-designed pieces of furniture and functional sculptures. This program will also explore Bien Hecho Academy, where classes and workshops take place. We’ll show some of the machinery and tools in the woodworking shop with the Academy’s Director Angie Yang, and we’ll get some insider tips on woodworking you can do at home or that you can also put into practice by joining Bien Hecho Academy’s exciting classes.

>> Continue reading

Climate Week: Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency Virtual Tour | Episode 137

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Like many cities around the world, New York City is facing the reality of climate change and its severe impacts on the urban environment. In Lower Manhattan, high tides with sea level rise are projected to flood multiple city blocks on regular basis in this generation. If we don’t take action, climate threats to this area will put our transit system, critical infrastructure and jobs serving all of New York City and the region at risk. On this virtual walk with the NYCEDC, we’ll explore how the City is taking action by investing over $500 million in climate adaptation projects to protect Lower Manhattan now, as well as planning for long-term climate adaptation to meet the challenges of tomorrow. The program will discuss Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency and the investments happening now, as well as the ongoing planning work to define the right type of infrastructure needed for the Financial District and Seaport neighborhoods and study the potential to extend the existing shoreline. Much work is still left to be done, and public engagement is critical to ensuring a successful plan to adapt these neighborhoods for current and future generations of New Yorkers.

>> Continue reading