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L E A F L E T, SPRING 2007
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Root for Street Trees!
We all have an interest in preserving and increasing New York City's 2.5 million street trees, so that we may breathe cleaner air and live healthier lives in green and pleasant surroundings.
But this is not a straightforward proposition. Between 5,000 and 7,000 new street trees are planted annually in New York City, each a needed replacement for the 7,000-8,000 that have to be removed due to death, illness, or construction. Parks' budget for street tree maintenance covers the essential pruning and limb removal that mature trees require, but there is a critical gap in resources for juvenile tree care. The attention of volunteers during their early years is vital to young trees' efforts to establish themselves and thrive.
Survival for young street trees is a heroic tale. Trees struggle to reach maturity under extremely challenging growing conditions. Surrounded by concrete,
unprotected tree pits are easy targets for passing automobile, pedestrian and
animal traffic. Car doors hit them; dog waste disturbs soil chemistry; and heavy objects and passing feet compact soil and prevent water from reaching the roots. Objects wound around trunks cut off trees' nutrient transport systems and slowly strangle them to death. Young trees' most crucial need is water, yet most don't receive the watering they need. Protective fencing called tree guards can be installed around pits to help shield them from these threats, but durable iron tree guards are beyond Parks' resources to install with each new tree planted.
Meet a couple of volunteers who took up the cause of street trees. To address some of the external hardships faced by newly planted trees, Lorraine Forte from the Lower East Side aimed “to make available a low cost, durable, easy-to-install tree guard.” She says, “The kind of heavy duty ironwork guards that you see cost $600-$800, which is prohibitive, and lots of times [makeshift] guards are designed in ways that actually harm the tree as it grows.” She is working with artist Nick D’Ambrosia and woodworker Philip Bailey on a lightweight wood and steel prototype in several tree pits; look for one on 11th Street between Avenue A and 1st Avenue. Eventually she hopes to mass-produce and distribute them at cost to community gardens and block associations, and believes “they would also be inexpensive enough for it to be cost-efficient to put one around every new tree as it's planted.”
Another Parks volunteer, Regina, from the Upper East Side, focused her efforts on improving conditions inside the tree pit. On It's My Park Day last October, she organized a spectrum of people and organizations to come together to clean, plant, and learn about their neighborhood tree pits, including staff, teachers, and students from the local school (a science lesson was incorporated), the firehouse, neighbors, the local Starbucks (for hot beverages), and the Parks Department. At the end, Regina said, “the parents [who came to pick up the children] were full of questions. It brings it home and makes it personal.” Since It's My Park! Day, the relationship between the school and the trees has continued to grow. The students and parents are looking forward to more involvement, and are exploring regular volunteer days and ways to incorporate the trees into environmental education curricula.
Tree stewards like Lorraine and Regina are truly crucial, for both their work on the trees in their neighborhoods and their role in raising awareness about the benefits of street trees and how we can help them survive. We hope that these stories will inspire you to care for young street trees, to help make New York City's future greener and more sustainable.
Partnerships for Parks is expanding our support for tree stewards! To learn more about volunteer and training opportunities, call Channaly Oum at (212) 676-1929, or visit www.PartnershipsForParks.org.
NEW COLUMN: “Dear Mary”
Confused about how to get a special event permit? Wondering what a scope meeting is? Still not entirely sure how the Department of Parks & Recreation works? Navigating the ins and outs of a city agency can be complicated; that's why Partnerships for Parks was founded – to help you!
We'd like you to meet Mary Price, the Director of Outreach for Manhattan and the Bronx, who has been working at Parks for over 20 years and has been with Partnerships since we were founded 11 years ago. When we have questions, we go to Mary, and now you can as well. Starting with our summer issue, we're launching the new “Dear Mary” column in the Leaflet. Send us your most challenging questions; in each issue, Mary will shed light on one of them.
To submit a question, write us at Ask Mary, Partnerships for Parks, 830 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10021, or email askmary@partnershipsforparks.org.
Have an urgent or specific question? You can always ask your Outreach Coordinator. If you're not sure who the OC is in your region, call us at
(212) 360-1310, and we'll be happy to direct you.
ROOT FOR STREET TREES!
Check out these tree care training and opportunities from Partnerships for Parks and the New York Tree Trust.
Registration is required for all events. For more information or to register, call (212) 676-1929, or email channaly.oum@parks.nyc.gov.
Tree Care Days for Permitted Volunteers are being offered by Partnerships for the first time. Come together to improve the health of street trees in areas that suffer from poor air quality and inadequate tree canopy. Please note, these workshops are only open to volunteers with permits. For information on how to get a permit, call (212) 360-1357.
Sat., April 28: Arbor Day Tree Care Day
Bring your tools and expertise, meet others who care for street trees, exchange insights, and have fun! Parks permit and tools required. East Harlem (exact location to be determined), 10:30 a.m. – 12 noon.
Sat., May 19: It's My Park! Day Tree Care Day
In honor of It's My Park! Day, we’ll hold a Caring for Young Street Trees workshop in the park followed by a tree care volunteer day for newly and already permitted stewards. Bring your tools! Williamsbridge Oval, the Bronx.
Caring for Young Street Trees workshops move outdoors! Learn about caring for young street trees and qualify to receive a Parks volunteer permit at these outdoor, hands-on workshops. Wed. June 20: Brooklyn, 7 – 9 p.m.
Mon. July 9: Manhattan. 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
OTHER OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES:
Beginning April 30, City Parks Foundation welcomes all New Yorkers aged 60 and over to participate in CityParks Seniors Fitness, a free eight-week program offering tennis lessons, yoga instruction, and fitness walking in parks across the city. Classes meet twice a week and regular participation is encouraged.
To register, call (718) 760-6999, or visit www.CityParksFoundation.org.
Join thousands of volunteers on September 15 for the 22nd Annual New York State Beach Cleanup organized by the American Littoral Society. For details and cleanup locations, call the Beach Cleanup Hotline at (800) 449-0790, or visit www.alsnyc.org.
Save the date for an Estuary Wading & Cycling Adventure on Sat. May 5. Learn about the proposed Queens East River greenway and water quality in an environmental bike tour and hands-on water testing workshop on the Astoria/Long Island City waterfront. Presented by the New York Soil & Water Conservation District and Partnerships for Parks.
For more information or to register, call (212) 676-1929, or email channaly.oum@parks.nyc.gov.
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Dear Friends,
With Mayor Bloomberg’s recently- announced PlaNYC initiative, we can start planning now for a more sustainable city by 2030. As committed parks volunteers, you are particularly and uniquely poised to make a difference.
Many of PlaNYC’s goals are directly relevant to parks: opening up more of our waterways to recreation, reclaiming polluted land, and adding parks and playgrounds in the neighborhoods that need them most. Thanks to all of you who attended community forums or gave your input on the PlaNYC website.
Together, we are beginning to build a greener, more sustainable future for all New Yorkers.
Sincerely,
Adrian Benepe, Commissioner
Parks & Recreation
David Rivel, Executive Director
City Parks Foundation
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It's My Park! Day Spring, 2007
On Saturday, May 19, join thousands of New Yorkers in sprucing up and celebrating parks across the city. Volunteer projects include painting benches, planting flowers and spreading wood chips. Events include free tennis lessons, arts and crafts and nature tours. There is something for everyone who loves parks! To learn about projects and events in your neighborhood, visit www.PartnershipsForParks.org in late April.
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The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation aims to expand citywide tree canopy cover from 21 percent to 30 percent in the next 25 years. |
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Trees New York
is offering its 12-hour Citizen Pruner Tree Care Course this spring, including tree identification, pit gardening, pruning, identifying invasive pests, and more. Upon completion of the course, participants will be certified by Parks to care for street trees. Fee is $90 – some scholarships available. Also offered is a free, seven-week Job Training Program beginning in late April, which includes use of power tools and tree-climbing ropes and saddles. Call (212) 227-1887 or email treesny@treesny.com.
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Partnerships for Parks Capacity Fund
Organizations ready to take their park stewardship to the next level can apply for up to $5,000. Next deadline: June 1. Learn more at our information session on Wednesday, April 25 at 6:30 p.m. For details and to register, call Kate Louis at (212) 227-3626. For information, visit www.PartnershipsForParks.org
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Partnerships for Parks works to increase community support for and involvement in parks throughout New York City. Founded in 1995, Partnerships works to start, strengthen, and support neighborhood park groups; to link these groups together so that they can learn from each other and become stronger collectively; and to promote involvement in parks so people will join in efforts to restore and preserve them.
Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor
City of New York
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Adrian Benepe, Commissioner
Parks & Recreation
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David Rivel, Executive Director
City Parks Foundation
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Jason Schwartz, Director
Partnerships for Parks
EDITOR: Hillary Angelo, Director, Technical Assistance Program
WRITER: Channaly Oum, Sarah Fort
DESIGN: Anne LaFond
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http://www.PartnershipsForParks.org
http://www.nyc.gov/parks
http://www.CityParksFoundation.org
To contact Partnerships for Parks and for information on volunteering in parks,
call (212) 360-1357 or call the City's non-emergency hotline, 311.
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