The Brooklyn Bridge Forest is growing

If you’ve been following the Brooklyn Bridge Forest (BBF) project, you’ll be excited to learn that the venerable Bronx Zoo is now using sustainable tropical hardwood to maintain one of its most popular walkways, and that Prospect Park Zoo is planning to use the same timber to refurbish the decks in its Discovery Marsh and aviary!

The wood was harvested from Uaxactún, the same Guatemalan rainforest that is the proposed site of the Brooklyn Bridge Forest (this region and the community who calls it home are part of a nearly 20-year conservation effort led by WCS, the Wildlife Conservation Society).

These important developments mean we’ll soon have proof that the system works: not only that harvesting hardwood sustainably can help communities protect vital forest, but that our proposed wood species functions well in a demanding, real-life, NYC setting.

Also on the horizon is a winter research trip to Guatemala we’re organizing with our partners from WCS, the University of Michigan, the Municipal Art Society, Natural Areas Conservancy, and more. We’ll be meeting with the forest conservation collective there to discuss ways to sustainably accelerate production, build our existing good relationship with the Uaxactún community, and continue to identify and plan the first of many international education collaborations we hope to launch in the next few years.

We’re especially pleased to be working with Nigel Penney, founder and director of Quebec’s Westmount Science Camp, on initial plans to connect elementary school students from Guatemala and NYC.

I look forward to keeping you in the loop about all of these exciting projects, and more, as they develop.

In the meantime, we always love to hear from you—please feel welcome to comment or question below!

Tags: brooklyn bridge forest