In 2022, the Preservation League of NYS identified Genesee Valley Park as one of its Seven to Save — seven of the most at-risk historic sites in the state. Far more than a recreational green space, Genesee Valley Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s as a model of landscape art. The initial threat that resulted in Genesee Valley Park’s Seven to Save designation was the University of Rochester’s plan to build a warehouse and parking lot in a section of parkland that currently contains a woodland buffer. In collaboration with the Preservation League of NYS and the Rochester Olmsted Parks Alliance, an interdisciplinary group of students at the University of Rochester set out to protect the park by responding to the question, “Why is this park worth saving?”, in a medium of their choice. These students became the LAND PROTECTORS. The goal of the project was to create a arts-based portfolio that environmental Park activists could use as evidence of the Park’s worth when it inevitably comes under threat again. Here are examples of their projects:
An article about the project with artist statements for each artwork can be found HERE.