Parks And New Yorkers Have A Tree-ific Weekend At Mulchfest 2011

Commissioner Benepe and Mayor Bloomberg pitched in at MulchFest last weekend
Daniel Avila

This weekend, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New Yorkers at Travers Park in Queens for the 15th annual MulchFest, a citywide event where Christmas trees are recycled by converting them into wood chips. New Yorkers participated by bringing their trees to 70 locations throughout the five boroughs. This year’s MulchFest recycled 16,665 trees.

“New Yorkers helped the city be more sustainable by bringing their Christmas trees for chipping at Parks’ annual MulchFest,” said Commissioner Benepe. “By recycling their Christmas trees, New Yorkers support the environment and the MillionTreesNYC initiative by providing wood chips that help trees, flowers and shrubs grow. In addition, it reduces waste going to the landfills. Mulch was also made available to take home for participants to put on tree pits, private gardens and planting beds.”

The 15th annual MulchFest provided New Yorkers with a fun and convenient opportunity to recycle their Christmas trees and pick up mulch for their gardens. New Yorkers from Brooklyn brought out the most trees of any borough at 6,627, followed closely by Manhattan with 6,183. Queens’ residents brought out 1,875 Christmas trees. The Bronx chipped 949 trees while 1,032 were mulched at the event on Staten Island.

Recycling trees we can’t plant helps MillionTreesNYC, an initiative to plant one million trees by 2017, by providing mulch to keep the City’s newly planted trees, parks and green spaces healthy and beautiful. Woodchip mulch moderates soil temperatures, helps retain soil moisture and deters weed growth while slowly adding nutrients to the soil. The mulch will be used to line street tree pits and flowerbeds in parks. Wood chips may also be used in homes and gardens to enrich soil and control weeds.

This year’s event was sponsored by the Home Depot Foundation, Dunkin Donuts, GreeNYC, NYC Water, Cabot Cheese, Arizona Beverage Co., Pop Chips, Hot 97.1 FM, 98.7 KISS FM and 101.9 RXP Radio.

ARSENAL HOLIDAY LIGHTS CONTINUE TO DELIGHT

Although the trees have all been mulched, and the Times Square ball has dropped, thanks to generous funding from the Friends of the Arsenal, the historic New York City landmark and Parks Department headquarters will remain lit through the end of January!

The Arsenal was illuminated on December 6, when Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined members of the Friends of the Arsenal, students from all five boroughs in the All City High School Chorus and park visitors to flip the switch on the holiday season with decorative lights at the Central Park Arsenal. Just like the Parks Department itself, the lights are “green” in more ways than one: the green lighting scheme was designed by Holiday Image and installed by Parks’ Five Borough Shops, and the Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights are energy-efficient.

The Friends of the Arsenal, founded by Jeanette Wagner, is a non-profit group of dedicated New Yorkers who advise on strategic improvements, provide financial support and expand the public activities that take place in the Arsenal. They aim to support the restoration, care, and use of the historic Arsenal in Central Park. This is the sixth year the Arsenal has been lit since Friends launched on December 5, 2005 with the first annual holiday lighting.

Parks thanks the Friends of the Arsenal for their wonderful support in this longstanding holiday tradition.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“An onion can make people cry, but there has never been a vegetable invented to make them laugh.”

Will Rogers
(1879 – 1935)

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