Friends of Brook Park was awarded a “Greening the Bronx” grant by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

This funding is targeted for planting 47 new street trees in Port Morris and/or Mott Haven. FoBP has received the resources to plant them all.

UPDATE to “South Bronx Street Tree Planting Project” :

Update as of January 31, 2013– Friends of Brook Park’s team is pleased to announce that the remaining 30 trees have been successfully planted. They can be found in two groups of 15, about a five minute walk apart from one another. The first group can be found on East 138th and 137th Streets, near Cypress Avenue. The second group stretches between the Deegan Rock (a memorial on 138th St. near The Grand Concourse) and the landmarked former South Bronx Board of Trade building (at 137th St., where Third Avenue and Lincoln Avenue intersect). We’ve created a beautiful grouping of six Kwanzaan Cherries in front of the bank, there. They are beautifully pink in Spring!

Some of the species planted are Honeysuckles, Zelkovas, Fastigiate Oaks, Redbuds, and London Plane Trees.

We wish to thank Bronx Forester Gerard Friedler, whose shared his invaluable experience planting trees in Mott Haven and Port Morris for the NYC Parks Dept. with us . Likewise, thanks to Bronx Foresters John Pywell and Erin Duffy who met with us, and aided us by sharing planting maps and suggestions.

With the guidance of this experienced team of professionals, we are ready to welcome the trees! Now, here’s where YOU come in….

As part of this opportunity, our community will help the tree contractor maintain them for 2 years. FoBP VOLUNTEERS ARE welcome to check on the trees about once a week or once every two weeks, especially during the hot, summer months.
For each tree, Volunteers can:
— Remove trash from the tree pit and the Treegator watering bag around the trunk of the tree
— Pull weeds out of the tree pit
— Loosen the top inch of soil if necessary, to alleviate compaction and help water and air reach the roots
— Inspect for signs of disease
— Water the tree
— Keep simple records of which trees have been maintained, and when.

FoBP thanks NYSERDA for these wonderful trees, and for the opportunity to foster tree stewardship in our local community! Thanks to all the volunteers that are signed up, we welcome you to be invovled too!

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