Street Tree Care & Planting
Compost Education + Application
Check out the Big Reuse & NYC Council District 33 Tree Guard Project
We’ve created a more affordable tree guard for community groups and New York City residents in sixteen Council Districts to purchase and install with our tool set rental!
Our Street Tree Care Team works in partnership with Council Members (seen below) across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. They engage and support Schools inside and outside the classroom in addition to working with Community Groups, Libraries, Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and more to educate in action. Their work involves facilitating street tree care events and compost giveaways.
Interested in working with us? Fill out our street tree care survey as a member of a community group or an individual to share information about your group and neighborhood(s) where you'd like to host a street tree care event or list blocks/communities where street trees are in need of care.
Check the below list of Council Members to see if your Council Member currently funds our street tree care program in your district!
Provide feedback for your Council Member.
Click here to find your Council Member!
Our Street Tree Care program is funded by City Council members and administered by NYC Department of Youth & Community Development
Over the past year
- 1,927 Trees Cared For
- 2,013 Volunteers (Including 690 Youth Participants)
- 37 Tree Guards Installed With Youth
- 100+ Community Partners
- 119 Street Tree Care Events
We’ll plant 235 new trees in Disadvantaged Communities (DAC) across Brooklyn and Queens thanks to a Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) grant! Spring 2026 will be our first full planting season, which will continue into Fall 2026 & Spring 2027. Spring 2026 trees will be planted in the Navy Yard (district 33) and Cypress Hills (district 37). We're excited to build on our tree planting pilot from Fall 2024, where we planted 15 trees & greened 6 beds in Astoria, partnering with Rise Light & Power & then Assembly Member, now NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Learn more about our planting project and how to care for these new trees using our New Street Tree Information & Resource Guide.
Photo taken from Fall 2024 planting in Astoria
Watch this space for more updates and how communities can get involved in caring for the new trees.
Testimonials
We are so happy to be working with Anneliese and gil, both of whom are incredible educators and facilitators, to distribute compost in our District!
Council Member
Brooklyn
We love compost! Thank you Council Members for access to free, locally produced black gold!
Andre
Manhattan resident
Our trees are happier with this compost and care, it makes all the difference. If not Big Reuse and our Council Members, who would have the time or resources to take care of these street trees?
Daniel
Queens resident
We love working with Big Reuse!.. Neighbors who pass by while we're working always thank us (and we know the trees do too). We are so grateful for all the support!
Community Organizer
45th Street Green Space in Sunnyside
With your help my students will really get to see what we are learning, and the actions they are taking, are not only vital, but recognized and appreciated.
High School Science Teacher
Queens
GCC is so grateful to partner with Big Reuse on tree stewardship and compost distribution in Gowanus.
Landscape Manager
Gowanus Canal Conservancy
Thanks to Big Reuse, more neighbors get to participate in making our City cleaner and healthier, and it's vital that their great work continues to grow.
Council Member Lincoln Reslter
District 33, Brooklyn
Gill was so awesome and handled our extremely energetic crew like a pro... everyone had a total blast. The kids want to do it again and again!
Elementary School Teacher
Brooklyn
This hands-on education is invaluable for environmental stewardship for New Yorkers of all backgrounds and in every neighborhood.
Council Member Shahana Hanif
District 29, Queens
They explained the bigger picture of healing our earth in this urban landscape, and stayed and engaged with so many individuals to help them learn before, during, and after the event. This kind of teach is unmatched
Director, Roosevelt Island Garden Club
Roosevelt Island
My students were so excited by this hands- on compost sifting learning that was augmented by their presence and teaching. They still talk about this experience.
Educator
Roosevelt Island
Where environmental equity is paramount, compost application and education [events by Big Reuse] are vital cornerstones, enriching our communities, promoting sustainability, and ensuring that every resident has access to the transformative benefits of a greener, healthier environment.
Council Member Sandy Nurse
District 37, Brooklyn
We are so grateful for all the support Big has given us through the years... and acting as our fiscal sponsor so that we could accept funds from CM Julie Won!
Green Space
Sunnyside
I learned a tremendous amount and I feel inspired!
Middle School Teacher
Midwood
In District 40, Big Reuse's composting [eduction and application events] provides environmental benefits and aligns with our priorities around conservation and community education.
Council Member Rita Joseph
District 40, Brooklyn
These events which have been almost annual on Roosevelt Island are a huge teaching boom to our community. Children and families look foward to them and learn a great deal.
Director, iDig2Learn
Roosevelt Island
My students were so engaged, they had such a good time, and they were able to put what they learned in the classroom into practice, and make a difference!
High School Science Teacher
Queens
I started our building [composting] because of your educational outreach . . . We would not even be doing this program at all, if I had not had the fortune to hear from your educators.
Jessica M.
Brooklyn Resident
We see Big Reuse as an essential part of the city’s outreach and vital to making sure that residents understand the food scrap recycling program and know how to use it.
Dacotah Rousseau
Down to Earth Farmers Market
Without a doubt this outreach has been a cause for adoption of composting, and for a source of learning and community building for our neighbors. The Brooklyn community cannot afford to lose this valuable service.
M. Southwell
Brooklyn Resident
Big Reuse did an amazing job at Idlewild Environmental Center earlier this year to encourage community folks to compost. We need compost education, to remove extra waste from landfills, and to enrich our communities and our plates.
Matthew Loyd
Environmental Education Specialist, Eastern Queens Alliance, Inc.