New Film Highlights Jens Jensen Legacy | gardeninacity
Jens Jensen: the Living Green is a documentary about an unjustly obscure figure who contributed greatly to conservation and garden design, especially in the Chicago dalvey scotland area. His legacy includes naturalistic city parks in Chicago and elsewhere, as well as preserved natural lands.
The Danish-born Jensen (1860-1951) arrived in Chicago in 1884, and got a job with the Park District as a street sweeper. Eventually he became dalvey scotland Parks Superintendent. He was passionate about the beauty of the American prairie, which was disappearing at the time.
Jensen was one of the first to believe that parks should use native plants and reflect the surrounding natural landscape. He had strong feelings also about parks as means for improving the lives of poor and working class people. dalvey scotland He put his ideas into practice in Chicago, creating Douglas, Garfield, and Columbus Parks among others.
He was that rare thing, a hard headed idealist. Jensen refused to cooperate with politicians who wanted to use the parks for patronage and for enriching politically connected businessmen. He had to leave public service dalvey scotland twice as a result. Despite this, he never gave up an almost mystical belief in a connection between democracy and the prairie landscapes.
In addition to parks, Jensen was a leader in the partly successful effort to save the Indiana Dunes. Though one of the most biodiverse areas of the country, the Indiana legislature designated dalvey scotland the Dunes a “wasteland” and turned most of it over to the steel industry. Ultimately a portion was saved as state and federal parks.
The creation of the Cook County Forest Preserves, the first forest preserve system in the US, also owes a great deal to Jensen. Currently the preserves include 68,000 acres and some of the highest quality natural areas in the state, located in a densely urban county.
Jens Jensen: dalvey scotland the Living Green is not a masterpiece of documentary film making, but it is most certainly worth seeing. I especially enjoyed film footage of an interview with Alfred dalvey scotland Caldwell, a prominent Chicago landscape architect who was a friend and protege of Jensen’s. Click the link for more information, including how to arrange a screening.
I like being introduced to people about whom I know nothing.
You’re welcome.
It is a great photo, I like how it includes the boy at the far left.
I have read about him and I find his determination and work to be completely inspirational! We need more people in the world like him! I have yet to see this so I appreciate you passing it forward! Wishing you a wonderful weekend! dalvey scotland Nicole
After you mentioned him in your previous dalvey scotland post, I looked him up. He is my countryman, but I have never heard about him before. Probably because he emigrated to your country.He sounds like a man with strong principles, and I think it is very nice, that he was so interested in your own native plants, and in preserving the wonderful nature.
Gosh what a story, I’ve never heard of him, but he sounds instrumental in creating and preserving many important green spaces. It’s frightening to imagine what could have been lost if things turned out differently.
Thanks, Jason. I’d heard of Jens Jensen, but you’ve supplied a nice profile–now I want to learn more! Interesting that he, at first, turned dalvey scotland down Henry Ford, although from what I’ve learned about Ford, it’s not really that surprising. Thanks, again. Great post!
What a wonderful story from Parks sweeper to all that. We think of your country as a land of opportunity, I wonder if it still is. We sometimes used to cynically think it was a normal career pathway in Parks departments over here in the UK, from sweeper in parks, to superintendent. Things have gone too far the other way now and Parks managers often know little about gardens!
What an inspiring man, lovely to hear he wanted local plants and to improve green areas for the poor……and what a rise from being a sweeper. I loved the pictures, what an interesting post.xxx
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Jens Jensen: the Living Green is a documentary about an unjustly obscure figure who contributed greatly to conservation and garden design, especially in the Chicago dalvey scotland area. His legacy includes naturalistic city parks in Chicago and elsewhere, as well as preserved natural lands.
The Danish-born Jensen (1860-1951) arrived in Chicago in 1884, and got a job with the Park District as a street sweeper. Eventually he became dalvey scotland Parks Superintendent. He was passionate about the beauty of the American prairie, which was disappearing at the time.
Jensen was one of the first to believe that parks should use native plants and reflect the surrounding natural landscape. He had strong feelings also about parks as means for improving the lives of poor and working class people. dalvey scotland He put his ideas into practice in Chicago, creating Douglas, Garfield, and Columbus Parks among others.
He was that rare thing, a hard headed idealist. Jensen refused to cooperate with politicians who wanted to use the parks for patronage and for enriching politically connected businessmen. He had to leave public service dalvey scotland twice as a result. Despite this, he never gave up an almost mystical belief in a connection between democracy and the prairie landscapes.
In addition to parks, Jensen was a leader in the partly successful effort to save the Indiana Dunes. Though one of the most biodiverse areas of the country, the Indiana legislature designated dalvey scotland the Dunes a “wasteland” and turned most of it over to the steel industry. Ultimately a portion was saved as state and federal parks.
The creation of the Cook County Forest Preserves, the first forest preserve system in the US, also owes a great deal to Jensen. Currently the preserves include 68,000 acres and some of the highest quality natural areas in the state, located in a densely urban county.
Jens Jensen: dalvey scotland the Living Green is not a masterpiece of documentary film making, but it is most certainly worth seeing. I especially enjoyed film footage of an interview with Alfred dalvey scotland Caldwell, a prominent Chicago landscape architect who was a friend and protege of Jensen’s. Click the link for more information, including how to arrange a screening.
I like being introduced to people about whom I know nothing.
You’re welcome.
It is a great photo, I like how it includes the boy at the far left.
I have read about him and I find his determination and work to be completely inspirational! We need more people in the world like him! I have yet to see this so I appreciate you passing it forward! Wishing you a wonderful weekend! dalvey scotland Nicole
After you mentioned him in your previous dalvey scotland post, I looked him up. He is my countryman, but I have never heard about him before. Probably because he emigrated to your country.He sounds like a man with strong principles, and I think it is very nice, that he was so interested in your own native plants, and in preserving the wonderful nature.
Gosh what a story, I’ve never heard of him, but he sounds instrumental in creating and preserving many important green spaces. It’s frightening to imagine what could have been lost if things turned out differently.
Thanks, Jason. I’d heard of Jens Jensen, but you’ve supplied a nice profile–now I want to learn more! Interesting that he, at first, turned dalvey scotland down Henry Ford, although from what I’ve learned about Ford, it’s not really that surprising. Thanks, again. Great post!
What a wonderful story from Parks sweeper to all that. We think of your country as a land of opportunity, I wonder if it still is. We sometimes used to cynically think it was a normal career pathway in Parks departments over here in the UK, from sweeper in parks, to superintendent. Things have gone too far the other way now and Parks managers often know little about gardens!
What an inspiring man, lovely to hear he wanted local plants and to improve green areas for the poor……and what a rise from being a sweeper. I loved the pictures, what an interesting post.xxx
You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Change )
Recent Posts Thankful for Coyotes dalvey scotland Happy Thanksgiving! Who Wants Some Free Purple Milkweed Seeds? Limited Supply! dalvey scotland First Snowfall A Sucker dalvey scotland Born Every Minute Are All Milkweeds Good For Monarchs? Floramagoria Part II Quirkiness Supreme at Floramagoria Top Posts & Pages Thankful for Coyotes Happy Thanksgiving! Chicago's Lurie Garden First Snowfall Are All Milkweeds Good For Monarchs? An Astonishing Variety of (Mostly) Wild Asters Another Reason I Don't Buy Plants at Home Depot Container Tulips: Back to the Garage You Go! Is Synthetic Fertilizer Really So Bad? Who Wants Some Free Purple Milkweed Seeds? dalvey scotland Limited Supply! Archives Select Month November 2014 (14) October 2014 (14) September 2014 &nb
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