They’re putting down roots!
Southern Brooklynites hauled home 250 baby trees from the Bay Ridge Library’s tree giveaway on May 6. The event is part of the New York Restoration Project, whose broader goal to greenify the five boroughs — and it’s a great way for tykes to develop their environmental awareness, said the proud parent of two new saplings.
“This is great because we have to be proactive and make the world a greener place There’s only one earth,” said Chung Raywong, who trekked from Gravesend with his wife, son, and nephew to pick up two Eastern Redbud trees. “I don’t want my son to take the planet for granted.”
The New York Restoration Project doled out nine types of native saplings that work well in the urban sprawl, including Witchhazel, Serviceberry, and Black Gum, in addition to Eastern Redbud. Chung said the fuschia-flowering plants are likely bound for his mother’s front yard along with a blend of homemade compost including eggshells, coffee grounds, and tea bags.
Giveaway organizers made all prospective plant-parents pledge to plant the trees with the five boroughs, keep them properly watered and maintained, and make sure to plant the trees in a private yard or community garden and not along streets or in city parks.
Each tree came with a tag loaded with planting instructions and all nine species are low maintenance. If they are regularly watered, budding gardeners should be in the clear.
The arbor giveaway is a continuation of the Million Tree Initiative, for which the Parks Department and the Restoration Project planted one million trees between 2007 and 2015.
The Bay Ridge Library event was one of several this spring that aim to put an additional 3,500 baby trees across the city up for adoption.
