Eric W. Sanderson is a Senior Conservation Ecologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and the author of the best-selling book Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City (Abrams, 2009).
The Mannahatta Project, conducted over decade, investigated the historical streams, ponds, springs, shores, hills, forests, and wildlife of Manhattan Island on the eve of Henry Hudson’s discovery in 1609. The project led to a web map and site (since rebranded welikia.org), an exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, education curricula, and major press coverage.
Sanderson is currently pursuing the Welikia Project—focused on the historical and contemporary ecology of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and surrounding waters—and Mannahatta 2409, an on-line forum to help the public envision climate-resilient designs for Manhattan (and eventually other cities) over the next four hundred years.
His newest book, Terra Nova: The New World After Oil, Cars, and Suburbs, was published in June 2013 by Abrams. Sanderson holds a PhD in ecology and an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and English literature from the University of California, Davis. He is based at WCS headquarters at the Bronx Zoo, in New York City, and lives on City Island, the “Seaport of the Bronx,” with his wife, son, dog, and a flock of chickens.
Contributions to Humans & Nature:
- Cities in Nature’s Network
A response to “How is nature critical to a 21st century urban ethic?”
Noteworthy Links:
- The Welkia Project
Explore Eric Sanderson’s new project at the WCS website. A video: New York—before the City
Watch Eric Sanderson speak at TEDGlobal.
Photo Credit: Julie Larsen Maher / WCS.
