Towards the end of the summer, I was seized with the overwhelming feeling that I could not breath in Manhattan’s inescapable cauldron of warm concrete and recycled air. Having caught wind of the existence of Native American caves, I embarked on an investigative journey to the northernmost tip of Manhattan into what I discovered to be its last remaining natural forest. My destination, the Inwood Hill Park Nature Center, a division of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, stands on the northern edge of Inwood Hill Park at 218th street in Washington Heights and serves as an in-park community center for public education, recreational activities, and environmental studies. There I met with the personable and well-informed head ranger who introduced me to the variety of programming they do under the auspices of “The Natural Classroom,” an educational program developed by the city parks department built around the natural and cultural history of each park involved. Before leaving, I took my own walk through the high canopied forest, breathing in its rich, oxygen-filled air and exploring a series of meandering paths that wind uphill and curve around the western edge of the park, revealing breathtaking views of the Hudson River below.
Just last week I returned with a group of Middle School students for their program centered around the Native American history of Inwood Hill Park entitled, “Native Americans: Pathways to the Past.” The head ranger greeted us at the Nature Center and conducted the first part of his talk indoors with a display of artifacts - eating implements made from hollowed out squash and pumpkins, a rubbing stick for making fire, a lacrosse stick, a series of arrowheads, and a guest visit from the center’s resident snake. The ranger then headed towards the forest where he spoke of the various trees and herbs used for medicinal purposes, showed the disputed site on which the Lenape purportedly sold the island of Manhattan to the Dutch for a mere $24 in 1626, and ended with a couple of natural rock caves that were used for shelter. As one would expect, students really loved being able to climb in and around the caves. Before we exited the forest to return to the students’ “natural” urban environment, we paused and asked the kids to look around them at the trees, the rocks, the glistening sun and crisp air, and to imagine that this was their living room, their hospital, their drug store and kitchen all in one. If they needed to keep warm, they would have to conduct the laborious task of creating a pelt from a live animal. If they were sick, they would use the plants themselves to remedy their sickness. Above all, this close relationship to Nature that is so central to Native American thought and practice was a lesson that only the natural world could teach, and we were fortunate to have found it in our own backyard.
Learn more about the Natural Classroom and its programs.


