3 x 52’ or 3 x 45’ 4K
Seals sunbathe on rocks in the entrance to New York Harbor and whales and dolphins cavort just a few miles from the famous Statue of Liberty. In the middle of a Brooklyn industrial park, a butterfly lands on a green roof before making its way to a forest 4,000 kilometers away in Mexico.
A 300-million-year-old species comes to New York's beaches to mate, and barely 20 kilometers from Times Square is one of the largest nature reserves in the U.S., with more than 300 nesting bird species.
New York is a city built on islands - an ancient natural area where the indigenous Lenape once lived in harmony with nature. The three-part series ‘Archipelago New York’ is a journey of discovery into this archipelago on the Hudson, showcasing fascinating places and inspiring people who paved the way for the return of nature to one of the most densely populated regions in the United States.
Just 50 years ago, New York looked very different: Fish bobbed lifelessly on the harbor waves, industrial plants pumped a fetid toxic sludge into the city's waterways and rotting piles of garbage piled up on former marshland. Today, huge schools of fish migrate along New York's shores, migratory birds land in a newly created grassy landscape, and bats flit between skyscrapers.
New Yorkers have brought about this change with their dedication and ingenuity. They are dumping a billion water-filtering oysters in the harbor, planting dunes, rooftops and garbage piles, enforcing new environmental laws and researching antidotes to the climate crisis. ‘Archipelago New York’ gives us hope the city can once again serve as a model for the rest of the world.
