A new lending library in Norwood is providing community members with essential tools to take care of the city’s trees. It’s a partnership between the James Baldwin Outdoor Learning Center, The Nature Conservancy, the Lower East Side Ecology Center and other city organizations.Read More >
When most people picture New York City, they see skyscrapers, subways, and sidewalks, not trees. But here’s the surprise: more than 40% of the city is covered in green space (parks, street trees, community gardens, natural areas). Scientists call this the “urban canopy,” and it makes New York one of the greenest big cities in the country.Read More >
City Hall Park Conservancy will host the City of Forest day on Oct. 4 from 10a to 2p with a volunteer gardening and raking, tulip planting, a children’s art project and a photography display. At 11a, Downtown resident and naturalist Gail Karlsson will lead a tree walk through the park, pointing out the species and background of certain trees and “trying to encourage more people in to get acquainted with them as neighbors,” Gail said.Read More >
Get outside for the fourth annual City of Forest Day on October 4 with over 100 events across all five boroughs. City of Forest Day is an annual day offering activities across the city to raise awareness for the importance of the NYC urban forest. The goal is for New Yorkers to understand the essential role they play every day in caring for the “lungs” of the city.Read More >
The city wants to hear from New Yorkers to ensure the Urban Forest Plan addresses the needs of all neighborhoods. You can fill out the questionnaire at urbanforestplan.nyc.
Shade from trees can cool city streets by as much as 2 degrees. The city’s health department reports that on average, more than 500 New Yorkers die prematurely because of hot weather each summer.Read More >
Some years ago I published a book called New York City of Trees. On facing pages of photographs and text, it presented portraits of fifty-five trees in the city’s five boroughs. One was of a Callery pear in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. A mid-sized tree covered in white blossoms each spring, glossy green leaves in the summer, and a mass of orange-yellow leaves in the fall, the species is a familiar sight in cities across the US. At the time of my book’s publication it was the second most widely planted species in Manhattan, after the honey locust.Read More >
New York City is developing its first Urban Forest Plan! In addition to reducing extreme heat, trees manage stormwater, beautify our streets, and reduce air pollution. The Urban Forest Plan will set a vision for the care, management, and equitable expansion of the urban forest—which includes all the trees on public and private land in New York City—and also for the ways communities can be involved in the future of the urban forest. That’s why your input is so valuable.Read More >
In an effort to grow New York City’s tree canopy and address environmental equity, the City Parks Foundation and Partnerships for Parks, in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice, NYC Parks, Natural Areas Conservancy, and The Nature Conservancy, will host a NYC Urban Forest Community Kickoff event on Thursday, May 22 at Brownsville Heritage House in Brooklyn.Read More >
On a recent crisp, autumn afternoon, Ewen Park was growing greener by the hour as 190 new trees took root in celebration of the third annual City of Forest initiative.
Hosted by the Stewards of Ewen Park, in partnership with local organizations and volunteers, the event was one of over 80 eco-focused activities across the city aimed at enhancing and restoring urban green spaces.Read More >
Forest for All NYC started in 2021 with a goal to expand New York City’s tree canopy up to 30% by 2035 while maintaining the city’s existing coverage. Forest for All is a coalition that brings together around 150 organizations to meet its goal of planting and sustaining trees in an urban environment to combat the climate crisis and restore the earth’s natural assets.Read More >