We recently teamed up with the Long Island City Partnership (LICP) and Weickert Sheet Metal Incorporated to host a corporate Street Tree Care volunteer day. Employees, community members, and our Tree Team worked together to care for street trees across Long Island City. 
Street trees offer shade during the summer, improve air quality, help manage stormwater, reduce heat, and make neighborhoods healthier for both people and wildlife. To keep providing these benefits, trees need regular care. During the volunteer day, participants joined our Tree Team along Skillman Avenue and nearby blocks, where they pulled weeds, picked up litter from tree beds, loosened compacted soil, and helped improve growing conditions for neglected trees. Every effort helped strengthen New York City's urban canopy and create greener, healthier streets.
As Austin Arocena, Street Tree Care Project Coordinator at Big Reuse, shared:
"The event was a great opportunity for Weickert employees to bond outside of work while learning and improving the environment they pass by every day. For LICP, the hands-on experience was the epitome of what they strive to do, which is to improve the Long Island City area. Doing that on a hot summer day, alongside the people they represent, shows that their goal is more than just a goal; it is something they truly care about."
Street Tree Care events have an impact that lasts well beyond a single volunteer day. By spending time caring for neighborhood trees, volunteers not only improve the health of the urban canopy but also become more connected to the green spaces around them. Arocena also reflected on the lasting impact of community stewardship:
"The biggest impact of the Street Tree Care program is the long-term effect of giving people an opportunity to invest their time and energy into something that directly benefits them and the environment they spend a lot of time in. This investment incentivizes those involved to continue the care that they spent time and energy doing during the Street Tree Care event long after the event has ended. Both LICP and Weickert employees spent a lot of time and energy caring for severely neglected trees during our event, and their investment will pay off by incentivizing others in the area to do the same while sharing the knowledge necessary to care for trees properly."
Corporate volunteer events like this show how local businesses, nonprofits, and community partners can work together to support climate resilience and healthier neighborhoods.
We want to thank the Long Island City Partnership, Weickert Sheet Metal Incorporated, and every volunteer who joined us for the Street Tree Care event. Their energy and hard work made a real difference for neighborhood street trees and showed how much can be achieved through community partnerships and environmental action.
Interested in getting involved? Whether you're looking to volunteer or organize a corporate volunteer event, visit the links below to learn more about our Street Tree Care volunteer events and corporate volunteer opportunities.
Written by NYSERDA Climate Justice Fellow Tatiana Guerra