This public artwork was installed in three distinct sections along the staircase that leads to the Harlem Fire Watchtower in Marcus Garvey Park. At each level Ascending the Mountain drew attention to the trees that make up Marcus Garvey Park. In doing so, the artwork acted as a reminder that trees utilize sunlight to heal the environment, connecting earth to sky. Five million trees in New York City remove forty thousand tons of planet-warming CO2 annually.
Further up the staircase is section 2, Growing Powerhouse, an illustration of the energetic processes that take place within the tree. On the left and right the viewer sees visualized the ability of the tree to bring gallons of water and minerals up the side of the mountain through their trunks. In the center is a representation of photosynthesis, transpiration, and respiration. The first is a process that involves the conversion of light energy from the sun into chemical energy in the form of sugars and nutrients for the forest. The second, transpiration, refers to how trees release moisture into the air thus cooling it. Respiration is the way in which plants breathe in pollution while exhaling oxygen. The artwork parallels the viewer’s movement upward on the staircase in its own movement up the tree - from roots to trunk and now to canopy.
In section 3, Tree Canopy, the viewer finds themselves at the level of the treetops. This is a rare opportunity to see how the tree canopy shelters plants and animals to the delight of the people in the park.