Naturalistic & Immersive Landscapes

In Hammock Grove, we are creating an authentic forest understory with multiple generations of trees and robust shrub thickets filling leftover space (alongside the titular hammocks, of course). This kind of landscape, once true of all New York forests, is rare in today’s natural environments due to invasive species, deer-overgrazing, and other environmental impacts. Hammock Grove’s 10 acres are bursting with trees–1,300 and counting–that are poised to grow into a towering urban forest, providing shade and combating urban heat island effects in the years to come.

Project Spotlight: Landscaping Sheep

Invasive plants compete directly with native plants for space, nutrients, and moisture, and are prevalent throughout New York City—Governors Island being no exception. Each year, a team of landscaping sheep from Friends of Tivoli Lake Preserve and Farm spends the summer on Governors Island eating invasive plants in Hammock Grove, helping to break down and weaken the plants and prevent the seeds from spreading. Many parks use goats to manage their invasive vines and shrubs; Hammock Grove contains softer invasives, like mugwort and phragmites, which sheep prefer—making them a natural seasonal extension of the Trust’s horticulture team.

Rising 70 feet above sea level, Outlook Hill is the tallest point on Governors Island. Visitors can experience this upland nature reserve either by climbing up the stone scramble (made with upcycled sea wall) or by exploring the paved ADA accessible path to the top. Both journeys feature meadows at each switchback along with spring flowering shrubs and maritime forests. Outlook Hill is a birder’s paradise; its diverse collection of plants supports many species of birds, pollinators, and beneficial insects by providing habitat and forage year-round with perennial forb plantings, fruit bearing shrubs, and winter evergreens.

Project Spotlight: Solarization

In various locations around the Island, including Outlook Hill, you may see plastic sheets laid down over seemingly empty planted areas. These spots are being treated through soil solarization, a non-herbicidal method of weed control. Solarization involves covering a sunny patch of weed-filled ground with plastic, “cooking” the ground below it. This effectively kills the weeds under the plastic, allowing our team to use these spaces to cultivate a biodiverse, beneficial habitats–no herbicide required.

Rising 40 feet above sea level, Discovery Hill provides an aesthetically engaging model of nature, exhibiting successional maritime meadows, shrublands, and forest plant communities. The winding paths encourage introspection by creating unique vistas where visitors can escape the hustle of the city, connect with nature, and take in rare views of New York Harbor. Discovery Hill is also home to Cabin, a public art piece by artist Rachel Whiteread presented through Governors Island Arts that complements the natural environment in evoking feelings of retreat and curiosity.

Project Spotlight: Soft Landings

Soft landings are diverse native planting areas located underneath keystone tree species (like oak trees) that provide shelter and habitat to multiple life cycles of insects. Planting soft landings under trees protects insects from being mowed or raked up during regular lawn maintenance and invites insects to complete their life cycles safely and securely, which significantly increases biodiversity up and down the food chain. Governors Island visitors can find soft landings surrounding trees on the Play Lawns and on the southern slope of Discovery Hill.

Slide Hill contains several different natural elements, including a full sun meadow and shrubland that, over time, will evolve into a fuller woodland. The area closest to the slides themselves acts as a hybrid garden and play space, with a mix of trees, shrubs, and the titular slides.

The smallest of the Island's four hills, Grassy Hill brings together an upland shrubland and meadow in one contained area—with a mix of full-sun areas and shrubs, grasses, and flowers growing alongside one another. Grassy Hill is home to 85 young trees and will eventually grow into a lush woodland and provide shade for years to come.