On four Thursdays in September and October, we returned to one of our favorite places in New York City—the Northwest corner of Washington Square Park, right under the English Elm that is one of the city’s oldest trees.
This year, in addition to a curated collection of books, the reading room included a special feature on birds, developed in partnership with Georgia Silvera Seaman’s Washington Square Park (WSP) Eco Projects. One shelf displayed bird guides and bird picture books, while another displayed study skins of starlings, enclosed in an acrylic case, that people were able to touch and observe closely using a magnifying glass. A label provided facts about the study skins. In addition we supplied binoculars for bird-watching and cards showing pictures of birds commonly found in the park. A memory card-game and small bird figures completed the installation.
The reading room was made possible thanks to a grant from the Washington Square Park Conservancy. The feature on birds was made possible thanks to a grant from the Blake-Nuttall Fund.
