Who doesn’t love mini golf? It’s great for an outing with family or friends, a memorable date, and… coming face to face with the harsh realities of humanity’s impact on the planet. The Putting Green, in Brooklyn, New York, has found an innovative way to demonstrate the impact of climate change on ecosystems, animals, and infrastructure. Situated along the East River, the Putting Green is in a scenic spot that is highly frequented during the warmer months. It was created as a neighborhood popup that reopens in the spring of 2022. A collaborative effort, the Putting Green features work from local artists, designers, schools, environmental and advocacy groups, and public agencies.
The 18 hole course covers a wide variety of topics surrounding the environment and climate change on a global and local level. On a global scale, the course covers issues such as ocean pollution disrupting the food chain and impacting oceanic species. It also covers melting sea ice and glacial retreat, which impact animals such as polar bears, and systems including the atmosphere and global weather patterns. It also covers the increase of forest fires, and the detrimental effects of industrial farming including methane emissions.
The course also has a local focus with issues that pertain specifically to New York City. It covers the adverse impacts from street pollution on New York waterways, and also cites that restoring the oyster population is essential for increasing the quality of water. Putting Green also puts focus on the vulnerability of Manhattan Island’s shifting shoreline to sea level rise, and shows that building coastal resilience is essential. It also provides solutions for making the city more green, including making buildings more energy and engaging in more composting. It also outlines the existing ways that New York City is green, mainly through its parks and its robust public transportation and subway system.
Putting Green puts forth many different solutions to enact on a global and local scale, including adherence to the Paris Climate Agreement, coastal management, better public transportation, renewable energy sources, wind energy, and supporting and nurturing native plants. Putting Green shares that a new era of activists are working towards a “regenerative future prioritizes nature, ends our reliance on fossil fuels, protects biodiversity, and creates equal opportunities.”
Combining art and education is a great way to raise awareness and get people thinking about an issue. Art is a particularly powerful medium because the viewer’s experience is subjective, and art evokes an emotional response that is a natural occurrence. Issue oriented messages represented through art can therefore be more readily accepted than other mediums such as articles or speeches, because the viewer has agency to come to conclusions rather than being told what to think.
We can’t wait to visit the Putting Green when it reopens in the spring! We wish you the best on your journey to greener living. Be sure to look out for more tips in future articles, and feel free to contact us if there is a topic you would be interested to learn about; chances are people in the Flourish community are looking for the same information, and we’ll give you a shout-out for your participation!