Community Corner
Join Rangers For A Virtual Geology Lesson In Inwood Hill Park
A lesson on geology in Inwood is among new Parks @ Home programs that will help New Yorkers safely experience parks during the coronavirus.
INWOOD, NY — Who says social distancing means you can't learn about Manhattan's indigenous people using rocks as refrigerators or the billion-year old rocks in the Bronx?
A virtual geology lesson in Inwood Hill Park on Tuesday was the latest installment of a new Parks@Home series the city's Parks Department has launched to help New Yorkers continue to connect with nature from the comfort of their homes — or outside with proper social distancing.
The series, launched late last month, includes Monday motivational fitness videos, live lessons from Urban Park Rangers on Tuesdays, live walks in the park on Wednesdays, arts and culture programs on Thursdays and a Friday "mediation moment."
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Tuesday's lesson, already seen by 4,000 people online, let viewers look deep into New York City's history through rocks that make up its parks.
"Rocks really hold onto their stories," one of two Urban Rangers leading the lesson tells the camera. "You can pick up a rock anywhere, no matter where you are, you can look at the colors and textures and ask yourself, 'How did this rock get here?'"
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The two rangers go through the three types of rocks that can be found in New York City, how rock formations were created when the park was covered in glaciers a billion years ago and how those same rock formations were used in some of the Big Apple's earliest civilizations.
"...While our worlds have become smaller, we are committed to bringing our 30,000 acres of green space and our countless free programs to you in your homes," NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver said about the new programs. "Our new Parks@Home series features fun ways to still enjoy nature, fitness, education, and culture that NYC Parks offers--while you stay home."
Among the programs are lessons about the parks trees, watching live hawk families in Washington Square Park, taking a virtual tour of an outdoor museum or taking a visit to the park's wildlife with proper social distancing from other parkgoers, the department said.
Here's a look at what will be online this week:
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