"Species Threat Made Real Through NY Native Plant Sculpture"
The most recent international report on climate change says it all. “The rate of species extinctions is accelerating.” “Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history.” “Grave impacts on people around the world are now likely.” “We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health, and quality of life worldwide.”
Is anyone listening to these cries for awakening to the climate crisis around us, as voiced by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in May, 2019? Or maybe listening isn’t the key to increasing awareness of the imminent effects of climate change.
One artist is trying to make the links between human actions and species extinction threat transparent by offering a chance for people to see and touch nature. In Manhattan’s Sara D. Roosevelt Park, artist Anina Gerchick has unveiled her latest BIRDLINK installation: a living, native-plant sculpture that provides habitat for resident and migrating birds and alerts people to the challenges faced by wildlife who share the neighborhood. The Manhattan installation responds to the recent IPBES report, which details the extinction threat facing nearly 1 million plants and animals, with an innovative network of habitat replacement interventions. The plants support birds traversing the major migratory corridor, Atlantic Flyway, that crosses the city.
