Fort Tilden exists within a network of protected wildlife refuges in close proximity to JFK Airport and is one of many stops along the Atlantic migration route. To protect more birds, spaces farther from JFK should be more hospitable to reduce deadly collisions between airplanes and birds. As a retired military base, the fort holds a built infrastructure of costal protection used from WWI to the Cold War. Since 1976 Tilden has been accessible to the public as a protected national park. The military base remains in varying states of decay, monolithic concrete batteries form hills on the site, and the magazine pavilions which supplied their ammunition crumble. The planting which began as a camouflage tactic by the military has since rewilded the site. The interventions of adaptive reuse of the batteries create a safer space for people to travel to in the park. Each of the four batteries create a moment for transpecies interaction, a magnet for humans and nonhumans. By dedicating certain areas for cross species interaction, it protects the rest of the site from human disturbance and cements a once ambiguous and decaying public space as a park for the city.
