Imagine Central Park

As New York’s surroundings gradually blushed with yellow, gold, red and all of autumn’s hues, we were fortunate to have another guided tour of its most popular park.

It’s the most exuberant time of the year and Manhattan’s crown jewel was aglow. Walking under vast umbrellas of golden foliage with two certified veteran guides from the Central Park Conservancy was a stroll through history, a lecture in science and ecology and a class on respect for rules and harmony. At some points it was what Thich Nhat Hanh said in his book “How to Walk” – a “no talking, just walking” pace when he once meandered around the park. Even though I was with a group of 13 other diplomats and spouses from various UN Missions, I kept in mind what the eminent Zen master advised about walking slowly and mindfully, paying attention to my steps and breath. I allowed the warm rays of the midday sun and the chilly fall breeze to bathe me.

During these moments I thought of what our guides Chuck and Martin said about how building the park was rigged with corruption because the mayor of New York in the late 19th century listed 18,000 names in the payroll who supposedly got paid 10 cents for every hour of “work.” Over 150 years had passed yet this story still appears recognizable to me. But decency and good governance ruled over the corrupt, the park was eventually finished after 17 years. Now an average of 43 million visitors from all across the globe flock to the over 800-acre lush gardens annually.

The gardens remain verdant from when the first 17,000 American elm trees and other species were planted. Chuck said how the trees had endured for over a century is an outcome of trial and error and methods backed by research. It turned out that the land where Central Park sprawls was covered with glaciers million years ago. Now we see them as granite boulders accentuating the park.

Beneath what appears arable soil are mineral deposits that devoured more than half of the thousands of trees that were initially planted. This prompted tree doctors to further research on tree and plant species that could best adapt and thrive, given the unique feature of the soil. Due to the unrelenting efforts of