Transcendentalists Meet with Tricia Zimic, Artist and Environmentalist, at Reservation

Our Little Transcendentalists met a real-life Thoreauvian when they met Tricia Zimic, an important local artist and environmentalist.  Tricia is a major force in the South Mountain Conservancy which is working to preserve, protect, and enhance the 2,110-acre South Mountain Reservation.    Below Tricia and Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo dedicate the first Wildflower Sculpture near the Dog Park.

 Tricia has worked to create and maintain the Wildflower Preserve near the Dog Park to reintroduce native species into the reservation and create over 44 "islands" of native species throughout the reservation.  You may notice when you walk on the paths fenced off areas: these are the islands that are started to keep deer from eating the native species, which also helps to keep the undergrowth of the forest healthy, which keeps the forest healthy and vibrant.

Tricia, like Thoreau, draws inspiration for her work from nature and the relationship we have towards our natural environments.

"My art is a narrative statement on our environmental impact that highlights the juxtaposition of native wild animals surviving in urban areas. I have worked many years as a re-forester and see the devastation that can happen when things go awry with nature. I have seen animals trying to survive in the most unlikely places; birds nesting in high tension towers, salamanders making homes in beer cans, bears, coyote and bobcat roaming in urban yards -- all victims of urban sprawl."

You can see her art here.

You can volunteer to help the South Mountain Conservancy every third Sunday of the month between 9:30 and noon.  Everyone meets in front of the Dog Park on Bear Lane off Crest Drive.