ReWilding New York: Community Seed Stations
| Aug–Nov 2015 : Albright-Knox Art Gallery : Buffalo, NY |
ReWilding New York : Community Seed Stations is a large-scale public project for the Albright-Knox Art Gallery — one of the nation's oldest art museums, located in Buffalo, NY.
ReWilding New York uses upcycled newspaper boxes, covered in a brilliant native floral photo mural, to gift over 10,000 custom-designed packets of native wildflower seeds to Western New York citizens. Selected in collaboration with Wildflower Farms to be beautiful, easy-to-grow in urban areas and high-nectar-yielding to support pollinators, the seeds also sprout from the top of each box's reclaimed wood 'green roof.' Two species of hardy milkweed are included specifically to support imperiled monarch butterflies, whose populations have dropped by 90% in recent years.
The seed packets are enclosed in a 100% post-consumer paper, soy-ink printed card with an additional action step for participants to take — a postcard to mail to Governor Cuomo in support of more native plantings, especially milkweed, and better pesticide regulation — which will protect both human health and endangered pollinators.
With literally millions of chances to sprout native plants contained inside, the brilliantly-colored Community Seeds Stations will travel around Buffalo and Western New York, in partnership with local organizations, bringing people into a closer relationship with their native environment, and helping to re-wild New York.
Species included are:
Achillea millefoilium - White Yarrow
Agastache foeniculum - Anise Hyssop
Asclepias incarnata - Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca - Common Milkweed
Coreopsis lanceolata - Lance Leaf Coreopsis
Echinacea purpurea - Purple Coneflower
Heliopsis helianthoides - Ox-eye Sunflower
Monarda fistulosa - Wild Bergamot
Oligoneuron rigidum - Stiff Goldenrod
Rudbeckia hirta - Black-eyed Susan
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae - New England Aster
As of August, 11, 2015 the Seed Stations are located at:
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, Buffalo
• Broadway Market, 999 Broadway, Buffalo
• Mattie’s Restaurant, 1412 Fillmore Ave, Buffalo
• Matt Urban Hope Center, 385 Paderewski Drive, Buffalo
• Urban Roots Community Garden Center, 428 Rhode Island St, Buffalo
• Orchard Park Public Library, 4570 South Buffalo St, Orchard Park
• Clarence Hollow Farmers Market, 10717 Main St, Clarence
• Explore & More Children’s Museum, 300 Gleed Ave, East Aurora
• Burchfield Nature & Art Center, 2001 Union Road, West Seneca
• Ellicott Island Bark Park, 10 Creekside Drive, Tonawanda
Please visit the Albright-Knox's website for more information.
ReWilding New York: Community Seed Stations was made possible by the Public Art Initiative at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, and the generous donation of the boxes by the Buffalo News. The artist would also like to express gratitude to the creative team who worked on the project: Public Art Curator Aaron Ott, Public Art Projects Coordinator Eric Jones, graphic designer Xiaoqing Wang, woodworker Sean Wrafter, and the many other volunteers and local organizations who are assisting with tasks like stuffing thousands of seed envelopes and caring for the Seed Stations.