BROOKLYN, November 24, 2020 — This Thanksgiving season, Prospect Park Alliance gives thanks for Prospect Park’s 30,000 trees, and the community members who funded a record season of commemorative tree plantings: nearly 75 trees, representing nearly 20 native species and raising $150,000 for sustaining Prospect Park.
“Brooklyn’s Backyard was hit hard this year by Hurricane Isaias, which felled over 60 trees and left 54 more with severe damage,” said Sue Donoghue, President, Prospect Park Alliance. “Our commemorative tree program is an important way that the community gives back to our park, and many of these trees were planted in areas impacted by the storm.”
A generous grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) provided Prospect Park Alliance with the opportunity to survey roughly half the park’s 30,000 trees to shed light on their significant impact on Brooklyn’s quality of life, and to create a forest management plan.
“Supported by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s record $300 million sustained investments in the Environmental Protection Fund, as well as partnerships with communities, environmental groups, and civic organizations, New York has significantly improved the health of community forests,” said Robert Davies, Director, Division of Lands and Forests, and State Forester, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The Prospect Park Tree Inventory and Community Forest Management Plan was funded by the New York State Environmental Protection Fund, and administered by the Urban and Community Forestry Program in DEC’s Division of Lands and Forests.
Through the collected data, and using the U.S. Forest Service’s iTree ECO Report, the Alliance discovered that the surveyed trees provide more than $2 million in annual environmental benefits:
- Remove 21,000 pounds of pollutants from the air each year
- Remove 3,000 tons of greenhouse gases from the air each year
- Save 1,300 megawatt hours of energy consumption each year
- Save 22 million gallons of stormwater runoff from the city sewer system each year
Prospect Park Alliance conducts commemorative tree plantings each fall and spring. Through this program, roughly 1,100 trees have been planted over the past 30 years. Learn more about the Prospect Park Alliance commemorative tree program at prospectpark.org/commemorativetrees.
Want to learn more about Prospect Park’s trees? View the Prospect Park TreeKeeper Interactive Map to get information on each of the surveyed trees and their benefit to the community: prospectpark.org/treesurvey.
