Teaneck Creek Conservancy
Encyclopedia
The Teaneck Creek Conservancy is an 46 acre (0.18615556 km²) eco-art park located in Bergen County
, New Jersey
. It is part of the Bergen County Park system managed independently managed by the member-supported, non-profit incorporation of the Teaneck Creek Conservancy. The park contains 1.4 miles of groomed trails and exhibits both permanent and ephemeral eco-art throughout the year.http://www.northjersey.com/community/events/119822399_Students_collaborate_with_artists_for_project.htmlhttp://blog.grdodge.org/2010/02/03/notes-from-the-road-teaneck-creek-conservancy/http://teaneck.patch.com/events/natural-craft-in-the-park The conservancy operates art and environmental programs for the local community.
The namesake of the Conservancy is the Teaneck Creek, which flows through the park and into the Overpeck Creek
.
and 80, five monolithic concrete drainage pipes marred the natural landscape. They were too large and heavy to remove without considerable destruction to the park and remained as a graffiti covered reminder of the history of environmental degradation.
In 2008, the Teaneck Creek Conservancy commissioned Brooklyn muralist Eduardo Aleander Rabel to lead a group of volunteers including students from the Thomas Jefferson Middle School and AIE NJ State Council on the Arts Grant artist John Kaiser to create murals inside and without all five pipes. The murals of each pipe represent a different era in American history beginning with the Native Americans and ending with the 21st century.
The Five Pipes was completed and opened to the public in October, 2009 in a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The Labyrinth was constructed from New Jersey construction debris found on-site at the Teaneck Creek Conservancy. The concrete debris were relocated and laid out in a labyrinth design reminiscent of a turtle's back in an homage to the Lenape Creation Myth.
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. It is part of the Bergen County Park system managed independently managed by the member-supported, non-profit incorporation of the Teaneck Creek Conservancy. The park contains 1.4 miles of groomed trails and exhibits both permanent and ephemeral eco-art throughout the year.http://www.northjersey.com/community/events/119822399_Students_collaborate_with_artists_for_project.htmlhttp://blog.grdodge.org/2010/02/03/notes-from-the-road-teaneck-creek-conservancy/http://teaneck.patch.com/events/natural-craft-in-the-park The conservancy operates art and environmental programs for the local community.
The namesake of the Conservancy is the Teaneck Creek, which flows through the park and into the Overpeck Creek
Overpeck Creek
Overpeck Creek is a tributary of the Hackensack River, approximately 8 miles long, in Bergen County in northern New Jersey in the United States. The upper creek flows through suburban communities west of New York City...
.
History
The Teaneck Conservancy was founded in 2001 by the Puffin Foundation together with local environmentalists, artists and educators to save a parcel of land from development. Through cooperation of community leaders and the Bergen County Parks Department, the Teaneck Creek Park was opened to the public in 2006 containing 1.3 miles of groomed trails, an Outdoor Classroom, and ecological art exhibits. Since then the Conservancy has continued to grow in community membership sponsors, educational programs for the public and is known as a premier ecological art park in the region.Ecological Art
The Conservancy commissions and hosts ephemeral and permanent eco-art exhibitions throughout the year.Five Pipes Project
Of the tons of concrete debris dumped on the park site during the construction of Interstate 95Interstate 95
Interstate 95 is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States, running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida and serving some of the most populated urban areas in the country, including Boston, Providence, New Haven, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore,...
and 80, five monolithic concrete drainage pipes marred the natural landscape. They were too large and heavy to remove without considerable destruction to the park and remained as a graffiti covered reminder of the history of environmental degradation.
In 2008, the Teaneck Creek Conservancy commissioned Brooklyn muralist Eduardo Aleander Rabel to lead a group of volunteers including students from the Thomas Jefferson Middle School and AIE NJ State Council on the Arts Grant artist John Kaiser to create murals inside and without all five pipes. The murals of each pipe represent a different era in American history beginning with the Native Americans and ending with the 21st century.
The Five Pipes was completed and opened to the public in October, 2009 in a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Turtle Peace Labyrinth
In 2003, Ariane Burgess of Camino de Paz was commissioned to create an oasis of peace and contemplation in the undistrubed heart of the Convervancy. Together with Artist-In-Residence Rick Mills, hundred of volunteers, families and community groups a site filled with vines and construction debris was turned into the Turtle Peace Labyrinth. Completion of the project ended in 2004.The Labyrinth was constructed from New Jersey construction debris found on-site at the Teaneck Creek Conservancy. The concrete debris were relocated and laid out in a labyrinth design reminiscent of a turtle's back in an homage to the Lenape Creation Myth.
External links
- http://www.teaneckcreek.org/index.html Teaneck Creek Conservancy Online.
- Adjacent Overpeck County Park