At Big Reuse, we care for street trees all year to support NYC neighborhoods. There’s something uplifting about a community coming together outdoors, getting their hands in the soil, and caring for the trees on their block. To celebrate Arbor Day and Earth Day, Fab Fulton, Pinterest, 20+ Brooklyn Tech students, and students from Global Learning Collaborative (Upper West Side) joined us for their Senior Day of Service to help the urban forest. Together, they cared for 38 trees along Fulton Street, following our five-step process: picking up trash, removing weeds, aerating the soil, adding compost and mulch, and making sure every tree bed is cleaner than before. They even went further by planting flowers in many of the beds, each one unique and cared for with real attention.
After the event, walking down Fulton Street and seeing the tree beds in bloom felt like everything had come together. You could sense how proud everyone was of their work. This event wouldn’t have come together without Kate Ellen Dean, a board member of Fab Fulton and a NYC Parks Tree Steward, who has been organizing events like this for four years. Kate’s deep love of trees led her to Big Reuse. She got involved with NYC Parks, became a tree steward, joined the FAB Fulton board, and connected with our team through City Council funding. "I met Gil and Lorial and Anneliese, and the rest is history," she told me with a smile. When you talk to Kate, it’s easy to see why this day keeps growing. "Tree Day is a national holiday in my head. Happy Tree Day to all who celebrate," she said. "I can't sleep the night before because I'm so excited. It's the best day of the year." What she loves most is how it changes people’s awareness. "There's a lot of tree blindness in the city. Having a day like this opens up the consciousness of everyone to the fact that there are trees, and it's so good for you to take care of them." Her hopes for the next few years are simple and meaningful: "I want to have tree guards on every tree in the BID. I want our plants to stay in the ground. I want the neighborhood to look more green when you look around."
Avion Foreman from The Green Garden has worked alongside Kate for four years, and the changes in the soil say it all. "Four years ago when we first started, the ground was so hard. Now when we touch it, it's actually getting softer. I hope by the four or five year mark it's like pillows." When I asked about her favorite part of the day, she smiled. "Friends and community, people you see also taking care of the trees, showing love. The love you have in yourself, you pour into the plants." Then she shared something that really stayed with me: "The soil, it's just like chocolate. The feeling you get when you touch it after it's been decomposed, it makes you feel so good inside."
Dharvin Vasquez, a senior at Global Learning Collaborative, joined us for his Senior Day of Service and plans to study electrical engineering in college. He left with a new perspective. "I wasn't aware that sometimes trees look really dry from the heat waves, and you can really tell even if you touch them," he said. "I also didn't know that you had to loosen the dirt so air can get around, and then add compost on top so the tree gets all the nutrients it needs." By the end of the day, something had changed for him. "Doing this today made me realize, wow, I really like this. Maybe I should start finding these events. It was a really fun experience, meeting different people." Moments like this are what make these events so meaningful.
We want to give a heartfelt thank you to Council Member Crystal Hudson for funding street tree care work in her district and making the Urban Forest Plan a priority. Her ongoing support makes days like this possible. Thank you to every volunteer who came out for Fort Greene’s trees this Arbor Day.
If you want to join in, sign up for one of our upcoming street tree care volunteer events with the Big Reuse team.
Written by NYSERDA Fellow Tatiana Guerra