Tree Huggers Unite: Brooklyn to celebrate City of Forest Day

On Saturday, officials, and leaders will participate in over 50 events around the city, including guided tours of Prospect Park.

October 12, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

A map of Brooklyn indicating the documented number of trees per neighborhood. There are over 185,500 trees and 194 tree species recorded on the map. The most common species is the London Planetree. Photo courtesy of the City of New York® and OpenStreetMap®

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The citywide nonprofit, Forest for all NYC, in conjunction with NYC Parks and Space Partners NYC, will launch the “City of Forest Day” celebrations taking place this Saturday, Oct. 15. The day is dedicated to helping city residents learn about the benefits of a healthy arborous ecosystem and how to encourage and care for the city’s tree canopy.

City of Forest Day will include over 50 different events in all five boroughs. In Brooklyn, there will be a guided tour of Prospect Park, as well as multiple opportunities for eco-friendly residents to help with small-scale conservation efforts from Fort Greene to East New York. Basic gardening skills, tree aeration, the preparation of street tree beds, and manicuring will get showcased at different events around the borough.

For more information and live updates, visit forestforall.nyc or nycgovparks.org

Events courtesy of Forest for All NYC.

East New York- Street Tree Care — NYC Parks Stewardship

Martin Luther King Playground at the intersection of Dumont Ave and Miller Ave

Time: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Volunteer with NYC Parks Stewardship to help care for trees on the street. Aerating, cultivating, mulching and tree identification will all be taught at Saturday morning’s Street Tree Care event. Participants should wear clothes that can be dirty with proper footwear.

Gowanus Tree Stewardship — Gowanus Canal Conservancy

Lowlands Nursery, 25 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215

Time: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Learn about and steward street trees in Gowanus by removing litter, aerating the soil, and applying compost. This event is open to all ages but all participants under 14 must have a parent or guardian present.

City of Forest Day at the Audubon Center — Prospect Park Alliance

Prospect Park Boathouse + Audubon Center, 101 East Dr., Brooklyn, NY 11225

Time: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Join Prospect Park Alliance at the Audubon Center for family fun as we learn about our urban forest. Enjoy nature crafts, lend a hand with leaf raking, and take a nature walk to learn about the trees, plants and wildlife of Prospect Park.

Park Pitch In: City of Forest Day — Prospect Park Alliance

Prospect Park

Time: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Join Prospect Park Alliance for a volunteer event for adults and teens 14+. Focusing our efforts on Lookout Hill, a scenic woodland restored by the Alliance, volunteers will help pick up litter that can harm this important wildlife habitat, maintain trails and paths, weed invasive species and other restoration activities.

Bi-Weekly Volunteer Day: City of Forest Day — Fort Greene Park Conservancy

Fort Greene Park

Time: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Join us for one of our regularly scheduled Bi-Weekly Volunteer days, happening every other week in Fort Greene Park! This week’s Bi-Weekly Volunteer Day celebrates City of Forest Day and focuses on the long-term health of the fragile tree canopy in Fort Greene Park. Tasks include mulching trees, spreading compost, and more!

Brooklyn Heights Promenade Garden Tour – Brooklyn Heights Association

Pierrepont Playground, Pierrepont Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Time: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Garden tour, explaining the benefits of green spaces and ideology behind the tree planting of Honey locusts.

Designing with Urban Street Trees — American Society of Landscape Architects, New York Chapter

Meeting in front of Nu Hotel Brooklyn – 87 Smith Street near Atlantic Ave.

Time: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Design-focused walking tour! All are welcome to tour the Downtown Brooklyn forest canopy with two landscape architects, Wendy Andringa, ASLA, and Elena Brescia, FASLA, who design New York City streetscapes.

Celebrate City of Forest Day with Trees New York at Green-Wood — Trees New York

Green-Wood Cemetery. The group will meet at the Gothic Arch, enter via the main entrance at 25th St. and 5th Ave. and walk up the hill to the Arch.

Time: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Join Trees New York’s Education Director and Arborist, Sam Bishop for a fall tree walk at Green-Wood. We will look at some of the better trees for fall color, and Sam will give some tips to identify them so you can watch them in your neighborhood. To get ready for Halloween, we will also discuss some of the folklore around trees and this spirited season.

A History of Brooklyn’s Last Remaining Forest: Prospect Park — Prospect Park Alliance

Prospect Park

Time: 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

On this tour with Prospect Park Alliance partner Turnstile Tours, explore the history of Brooklyn’s largest forest and the Alliance’s restoration of the woodlands. This 1.5 mile tour is appropriate for all ages. Please note, there will be limited restroom access and standing and walking over uneven surfaces is required.

Tree Stewardship Workshop: Prepare Your Street Tree Bed for Spring—Now! — Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Administration Building Classroom 236

Time: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Street trees do much to improve our environment but often receive little care. Fall is a great time to give your street tree some TLC to see it through winter and lay the groundwork for a healthy rebirth in spring. Yet even the most well-intentioned practices can damage our neighborhood trees. Learn to avoid the common “pit”-falls of tree bed gardening and how to remedy them. Topics include tree guards, watering, deterring dogs, low-maintenance plantings, and more. Bring your questions!

Farmhouse Family Day — Wyckoff House Museum

5816 Clarendon Road, Brooklyn, NY 11203

Time: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Learn more about the trees that live on the Wyckoff Farm and surrounding park space. Farmhouse Family Day is from 11a.m. to 3p.m., with the City of Forest Day craft activity beginning at 1p.m.

Forest Meditation Hike — NYC Parks

Audubon Center at the Boathouse in Prospect Park

Time: 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Celebrate City of Forest Day with NYC Parks. Forest meditation allows you to slow down and become immersed in nature. Come enjoy the sights and sounds of Prospect Park in this experiential hike focused on mindfulness and relaxation.

Garden Tour: Shinnecock Plant Oral History Tour — Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Meet at the north entrance to the Native Flora Garden

Time: 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Join Chenae Bullock, a member of the Shinnecock Nation, for a Native Flora Garden tour and talk based on ITEK, or Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge. ITEK is a body of observations, oral and written knowledge, practices, and beliefs that promotes environmental sustainability and the responsible stewardship of natural resources through relationships between humans and environmental systems. Event is free with a garden ticket– for more information on complimentary admission programs please see: https://www.bbg.org/visit/complimentary_admission_programs

Tree ID and Environmental History Walk — Brooklyn Public Library – Greenpoint Branch

Greenpoint Library, 107 Norman Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11222

Time: 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Celebrate City of Forest Day by getting to know Greenpoint’s trees! Starting at the library, learn about the storied past of Greenpoint’s trees and environmental activism in the neighborhood. Then learn to identify some common street tree species by observing their leaves, seeds, bark, and structure. Participants will receive a tree identification guide to use on future strolls throughout the city.