In our last meeting, my group shared our research on the topics we pulled from our brainstorming and discussed problems and possible solutions in each area. One topic that we all found interesting and decided to delve into more deeply was parks.

We decided to each go to a park and observe how people used the space and what issues or possible improvements we could see.

I sat down in St. James’s Park for a bit and took a walk around.

 

Some general things that I noticed:

• The benches by the water were nearly full
• People tend to ignore the person they are sharing a bench with – at one point a couple I was sharing the bench with was getting very snuggly
• Many people were sitting on the grass with blankets
• Someone was napping on a bench outside of a coffee shop
• There seemed to be a lot of tourists in the park – taking photos and speaking different languages

 

Wildlife in parks

There are lots of birds and squirrels in St. James’s Park and the visitors at the park interacted with them in a few different ways while I was there.

• A man eating a sandwich on a bench had to shoo away a curious goose and pigeons
• Many people stopped to take photos of two black swans near the edge of the water
• A woman explained to a little boy that black swans have white feathers underneath for flying
• An overly friendly squirrel looked ready to jump on visitors that walked close to it with their hands out (as if to offer food)

I was wondering if (and how) there were really two pelicans on a rock in the water (not pictured). Then, I saw a sign was posted nearby to answer my question:

 

I also wondered how this cottage was being used and if anyone who worked in the park lived or stayed there to maintain the grounds and care for the animals.

 

Again, a helpful sign for visitors answered my questions:

 

This sign was posted near where I saw the pelicans:

 

Is it okay to feed the other birds?

 

I’ve been having sporadic issues with these photos. I think I’ve fixed the problem, but in case photos don’t load: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dh7xwnXXtvszqvsb8