Spring Cutback Update: Week 1 [1]
Submitted by Erika Harvey on
Volunteers and High Line Gardeners gather tools and supplies at the end of a chilly Spring Cutback shift on Tuesday, March 6. Photo by Liz Ligon. [2]We have just completed week one of High Line Spring Cutback [3]!
Spring Cutback is an intense six week-long process in which we cut back the High Line’s wild grasses, perennials, and shrubs to make way for new spring growth. It’s our biggest task of the year and High Line Gardeners couldn’t do it without the help of a dedicated group of volunteers. Stop by the park and see the transformation underway as spring bulbs and new green growth pop up.
Follow us after the jump for an update and photos from our first week.
Official Kick-Off
Spring Cutback kicked off with a ceremonial cutting [4] with Co-Founders Joshua David and Robert Hammond, High Line Gardeners, teens from the Lab School for Collaborative Studies, and some of our generous supporters. Photo by Liz Ligon. [2]
Co-Founders Joshua David and Robert Hammond join our supporters of Spring Cutback, Bloomberg, Google, [5] HR&A Advisors, [6] REI, [7] Toyota, [8] and UNIQLO, [9] to inaugurate our biggest task of the year. Photo by Liz Ligon. [2]
During the first week of Spring Cutback, High Line Gardeners and volunteers started at the southern end of the High Line, at Gansevoort Street, and are working their way north during the coming weeks. We've worked our way through most of the planting beds to West 18th Street. Photo by Tim Schenck. [10]
During Spring Cutback, dried grasses and shrubs are cut back, and the planting beds are tidied in preparation for new growth. Photo by Liz Ligon. [2]
(left) A finished planting bed near Gansevoort Street. (right) Evidence of a hard day’s work: plant material destined for the Department of Sanitation’s Fresh Kills Composting Facility. Photo by Liz Ligon. [2]See more photos from our Spring Cutback kick-off on Flickr. [11]
Staff, Volunteer, and Visitor Photos from this Week
(Left) Nicole Brinson, a star volunteer who logged 21 hours with last year’s Spring Cutback, joins us again. Thank you, Nicole, for your on-going support! (Right) Volunteers tackle a patch of grasses near West 17th Street. Photo by Spring Cutback Volunteer Teri Tynes. [12]
(Left) Some of the first bulbs, like these woodland crocuses, are popping up as a reminder that spring is just around the corner. Photo by Spring Cutback Volunteer Teri Tynes. [12] (Right) As dried grasses are cut back, vibrant green spring growth is already visible. Photo by Spring Cutback Volunteer Cheryl French. [13]
Above a busy 10th Avenue, staff and volunteers trim back the plants on the Northern Spur Preserve.
During Spring Cutback, volunteers and staff load up bags full of dried plant material for composting. Photo by Karen Blumberg. [14]
Each of the bags in this photo is full of plant material removed from the beds. High Line Gardeners estimate that we produced 35 cubic yards of organic material this week alone. Most of it is sent to the Department of Sanitation’s Fresh Kills Composting Facility, while some is kept on-site for our mulching program. [15]Press Highlights
VIDEO: "Volunteers Get High Line Spruced Up for Spring" [16]
Tuesday, March 6
NY1
"Weather Journal: Spring is in the Air" [17]
Tuesday, March 6
The Wall Street Journal, New York Weather Journal
"Volunteers Cutback High Line Plants" [18]
Tuesday, March 6
DNAinfo.com