LINCOLN PARK

AND OLD TOWN

PARKS DIRECTOR WHO GAVE CITY FORESTS OF PAINTED TREES HIRED BY DISNEY

-By Mark Konkol | February 5, 20l4

OLD TOWN — After reviving Chicago’s conservatories, building art gardens in Grant Park and creating little colorful forests of painted trees on the lakefront that people just couldn’t stop talking about, what’s Adam Schwerner going to do next?

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He’s going to Disneyland. The visionary Chicago Park District Cultural and Natural Resources Director got cherry-picked by Mickey Mouse’s parent company to take over as supreme leader of ornate gardening at the Anaheim, Calif., theme park. “When Disney calls, you gotta listen,” said Schwerner, whose official Disney title is director of horticulture and resort enhancement.

NATIONAL PARKS AND RECREATION

July 1, 2012, Feature

-By Richard J. Dolesh, Maureen Hannan, Elizabeth Beard

“Innovative initiatives like Schwerner’s require an organizational culture that values and nurtures new ideas.”

THINKING OUTSIDE THE SUGGESTION BOX

July 1, 2012, Department, by Philip Hay Editor’s Letter

“Perhaps only an Adam Schwerner could paint the trees in parks. As they say in sports, you can’t teach that particular move. Adam, however, demonstrates the necessary temperament and the curiosity to conceive and then pitch such original ideas to his colleagues. In turn, Adam knew he could count on his boss, Chicago Park District Superintendent Michael Kelly, to hear him out and bless his idea. Adam finds the supportive environment not only liberating, but also the means of permission to think more broadly.”