Slow Nature Fast City
A beginner's guide to noticing and exploring nature in NYC
Category: Try This
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There are seahorses in the Hudson River. I repeat: there are seahorses in the Hudson River.
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This week try a new urban nature observation technique: warm up your eyes by tracing the horizon. Then take a walk in search of small signs of nature.
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Last night at a party I got into a discussion with a friend about nature in New York City. I told my friend how I was writing the beginner’s guide Slow Nature Fast City. He smiled a wry smile and said, “Honestly, I’m skeptical about nature in NYC.” My friend is a native New Yorker.…
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Have you ever heard R2D2 singing in the trees? I did. This week’s experiment in NYC nature observation is to listen.
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If you are new to noticing nature in an urban setting, you might feel a little awkward looking skyward while everyone else is rushing with their heads down. Be brave. Who cares if you look like a tourist in Times Square?
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The poet Frank O’Hara famously wrote his book Lunch Poems on his lunch hour. Here is how he described it: “Often this poet, strolling through the noisy splintered glare of a Manhattan noontide, has paused at a sample Olivetti to type up thirty or forty lines of ruminations.” I think of Frank O’Hara as the…
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Here are a few signs that you may miss nature: You’ve said “We didn’t really have a Spring this year.” You only spend time outside to get from point A to point B You feel like time is speeding up and your days pass in a blur You work long hours and you forget to…
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The “living fossil” Atlantic horseshoe crab may be one of the most interesting visitors to NYC, especially during its moonlight mating frenzy.
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Consider the sky above this amazing and crazy city of ours. It may seem mundane, but I ask you to find, spot, and watch clouds today. In fact, please look for clouds as often as you can over the next 24 hours. Today’s experiment is to take note of the ephemeral and to pay attention to…
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As a New Yorker, I imagine you could easily list the best things within a few blocks your home: the closest deli, Thai restaurant, drop-off laundry location, bar, and the best subway car for your preferred exit. But here’s a question that may stump you. Can you tell me about your closest tree? Take a…
Slow Nature Fast City 