project leader
Georgia S
location
West 4th Street
(Greenwich Village)
latest update rss
Spring 2015 Updates!

the project

Washington Square Park Ecology will create a map of the ecological assets of the park. Local Ecology and the Washington Square Park Blog have partnered on this project. The final goal is a mobile map of the trees (of a certain size) and the buried Minetta Brook/Creek. Users of the website will see a map of the trees and the route of the brook. Species and size information will be provided for the trees. Trees of note will be highlighted; for example, the historic elm in the NW corner of the park as well as the sites of the former Japanese sophora trees that were removed during the park's recent renovation. A narrative of the brook will be available as one walks its length through the park.

the steps

The following steps to completion have been identified:

1.  Locate a reliable base map of the park

2.  Determine the route of the buried brook via archival materials

3.  Survey all the trees: Measure diameter and identify species

4.  Secure a website and a coder

5.  Create and test the map

6.  Launch the project

why we're doing it

At 9.75 acres, Washington Square Park is one of the largest green, open spaces in the Greenwich Village neighborhood.  While famous for the fountain and arch, the park has ecological assets that we feel should be highlighted more prominently.  Its trees are one asset.  The other is the buried creek and its associated marshland.  While we cannot restore the creek and the marsh, this project provides an opportunity to inform users and visitors not only about what they can see - the trees - but also about the park's historic ecology and its connection to a larger system of waterbodies in the neighborhood and the city.

budget

  • Coding + design of the mobile website: $2500 (The cost for the development of a simple site ranges from $3,000-$8,000 but we are budgeting slightly less - $2500 - with hopes that we can get nonprofit pricing.)

  • Domain name + hosting services: 1 year @ $192 at Squarespace = $192

  • Miscellaneous tools = $53



SUBTOTAL = $2,745
ioby Platform Fee  $35
ioby Fiscal Sponsorship Fee (5%) $137
3rd Party Credit Card Processing Fee (3%) $82
TOTAL TO RAISE = $3,000


RAISED = $3,050.00
less ioby Platform Fee  $35.00
less ioby Fiscal Sponsorship Fee (5%) $143.57
less 3rd Party Credit Card Processing Fee (3%) $87.82
TOTAL TO DISBURSE = $2,783.61

Revised budget, 7/23/2014

Coding + design of the mobile website = $2500
Domain name + hosting services (1 year with Beachcomber Creations) = $44.96
Basic hosting = $11.88/yrDomain name with privacy = $33.08
Miscellaneous tools = 421.96

updates

Spring 2015 Updates!

March 20 // Launch of the WSP Eco Projects website. More details to follow. 
 
March 20 // Release of the WSP Eco Map. More details to follow.  
 
Saturday, May 2, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. // Reading Your Landscape, an iPhoneography of Washington Square Park with Roberta Fineberg. More details to follow. About Roberta Fineberg http://www.robertafineberg.com/index.html.
 
Friday, May 8, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. // Spring Nature Walk in Washington Square Park with Leslie Day. More details to follow. About Leslie Day http://www.leslieday.net.

Announcing the winning name!

The nature map of Washington Square Park has a new name: WSP Eco Map. The winning name was submitted by Lorna of Seattle. Thank you to the judges and all those who entered the contest.

Fall Foliage Tree Walk in Washington Square Park

Fall Foliage Tree Walk in Washington Square Park

Join Leslie Day, PhD in Washington Square Park on Friday, November 14 at 11 a.m. Learn how to identify trees by leaf and by bark. Leslie will talk about the botanical history of the park and the medicinal uses of the park's trees. Leslie is the author of Field Guide to the Street Trees of New York City. Check out Leslie's website at http://fieldguidenyc.com/fieldguidenyc.com/Field_Guide_to_the_Natural_World_of_New_York_City.html.

Please meet at the historic English "hangman's elm" growing in the northwest corner of the park.
Event information at http://bit.ly/WSPFallFoliage14.

Collect acorns. Hug a really big tree. Smell stinky fruit.

Collect acorns. Hug a really big tree. Smell stinky fruit.

Do all this and more on a Washington Square Park Nature Scavenger Hunt.

Saturday, October 25, 2014, 11 a.m., meet at the Arch

Perfect for 4-5 year olds!

*** Please RSVP by Oct. 21 to ensure we have a collecting box for your child. ***

http://bit.ly/WSPNatureHunt14

Update: Beta version 1!

Beta version 1 of the Washington Square Map mobile map. (The Google satellite imagery is circa prior renovation of the park.)

Plant Photography 101 in Washington Square Park

Plant Photography 101 in Washington Square Park

Washington Square Park Ecology with Hubert J. Steed

Monday, June 16, 2014 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

New York, NY

RSVP HERE!

Join photographer Hubert J. Steed for a 2-hour park and garden photo work session in Washington Square Park!

Hubert will discuss components of landscape photo composition and offer some practical and aesthetic considerations. He will relate some of his experience in choosing photo equipment as well as advise on work flow and processing considerations. 

View Hubert's photography of Washington Square Park at http://www.pbase.com/hjsteed/washington_square.

The event is free but we ask that you donate $25 to support Washington Square Park Ecology, an online natural resources map of the park from historic elms to squirrel nests.

Topographical Survey of Washington Square Park (2004) [to be used as the base map for the project] Surveyed October 4, 2004 by the Parks Department and updated November 18, 2010.

Photos

Photographs of the park can be viewed on Twitter using the hashtag #WSPEcology.

 

Base map

We have located a base map of the park circa 2007. 
 
 
(The map is outdated but have begun to update with actual tree locations. Hope to have some map help in early 2014.)

photos

This is where photos will go once we build flickr integration

donors

  • Marcia M
  • Jeffrey Rathgeber
  • Anonymous
  • Anonymous
  • Anonymous
  • Anna Ruth Pickett
  • Robert & Colette
  • Anonymous
  • Sandra Molé
  • Havelock
  • Anonymous
  • Brykczynski Terry
  • Kimberly Kenney
  • Katherine Keltner + Douglas Gauthier
  • A. S. Evans
  • Anonymous
  • Ruth R.
  • Anonymous
  • Anonymous
  • The Padulo Foundation
  • KIm P.
  • Elizabeth Seamas
  • Anonymous
  • Spaid Patras family
  • Anonymous
  • Courtney Costello
  • Carolyn S.
  • Carol F.
  • Jee
  • Silvera Family
  • Anonymous
  • E&J
  • George S.
  • Oren
  • Terry B.
  • Robert S.