Pioneer landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted was celebrated Wednesday on Earth Day and for his birthday coming up on Sunday.
The event in the Albright Knox Art Gallery featured Central Park Conservancy President and CEO Douglas Blonsky talking about partnerships between his green landmark and the agencies and facilities surrounding the 843-acre preserve in Manhattan.
Blonsky says he has long-standing ties with the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy.
"I came up about 15 years ago and helped them do some organizational things," Blonsky said.
"This week is Olmsted's birthday and it's really about reminding people of how important a person Olmsted is and bringing awareness to Olmsted parks and the Buffalo Olmsted parks are some of the finest examples of Olmsted's work, probably his greatest parkway system."
Blonsky says the parks created by Olmsted are frequently under attack and many have been lost over the years so parks like those locally need to be protected because they are such cultural and community centers.
