Join us on Saturday, October 15, 2022 to learn, care for, and celebrate the NYC urban forest at City of Forest Day!
Did you know that New York City is home to more than 7 million trees, hundreds of acres of woodlands, and miles of trails? A healthy urban forest is essential for a healthy city—providing critical habitat for wildlife, cleaning our air and water, cooling our neighborhoods, and improving our health and wellbeing.
Presented by Forest for All NYC in partnership with the Parks and Open Space Partners – NYC Coalition and NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, City of Forest Day is a day of activities across the city to raise awareness of the importance of the New York City urban forest, and the essential role New Yorkers play every day in caring for the “lungs” of our city.
Events in Brooklyn are listed below. Events in other boroughs can be found here: https://forestforall.nyc/city-of-forest-day/
Events suitable for kids are marked with an asterisk (*).
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Come work with NYC Parks Stewardship to care for local street trees! Learn how to aerate, cultivate, mulch, and identify street trees. Volunteers will also learn about the important roles street trees play in New York City. Volunteers should dress in clothes that can get dirty and closed toe shoes.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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Garden tour, explaining the benefits of green spaces and ideology behind the tree planting of Honey locusts.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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Learn more about the trees that live on the Wyckoff Farm and surrounding park space. Farmhouse Family Day is from 11AM to 3PM, with the City of Forest Day craft activity beginning at 1PM.
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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.
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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
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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.