Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Digital Earth Watch (DEW) Picture Post Phenology Wayside

The result of a National Park Service-George Mason University Climate Change Communication Internship, the two wayside exhibits in the Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens link climate with planting times. One of D.C.’s lesser-known hidden gems, Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in Northeast D.C., is the only park dedicated to the cultivation of water-loving plants. The wayside content focuses on the impact climate change is and will have on the phenology of the park’s iconic aquatic plant life, including its iconic water lilies and lotus, and other flora. Through these educational materials, park visitors are invited to observe the seasonal variations that occur in the park. Visitors are also challenged to observe how the practices used to manage the park’s gardens have had to change to adapt these seasonal variations. The wayside will help to convey that this natural and historical-cultural landscape persists due to chief gardeners' ability to maintain the lilies through the seasons, despite susceptibility to many climate change impacts. ... Many of the Park's hardy water lilies are direct descendants of the original lilies planted by Civil War veteran Walter Shaw over 120 years ago.