Van Cortlandt Park

Volunteers Green Up And Clean Up Van Cortlandt Park With The Timberland Company And NYC Parks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, October 5, 2009
No. 103
http://www.nyc.gov/parks

On Saturday, October 3rd, First Deputy Commissioner Liam Kavanagh joined Theresa Palermo, senior director of North America marketing for Timberland and 400 community volunteers for Dig It, a volunteer service day to clean up and green up Van Cortlandt Park with Timberland® Earthkeepers™ and NYC Parks. New York City volunteers hailing from the Riverdale community and across the five boroughs planted over 1000 trees, painted light posts and benches, cleaned up trash, lay new wood chips over walking paths, and removed weeds and invasive plants in the Northeast Forest, Indian Fields, and Shandler Recreation areas of the park.

“The success of MillionTreesNYC – our ten year initiative to plant and care for one million new trees in New York City – has been buoyed by an extraordinarily high level of enthusiasm, support, and engagement from individual New Yorkers as well as New York City-based companies with a strong sense of corporate social responsibility,” said New York City Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “We are grateful to the Timberland Company for recognizing the importance of caring for New York City’s parks and urban forests and for supporting MillionTreesNYC as part of their worldwide ‘Dig It’ environmental initiative. By cleaning up Van Cortlandt Park and planting trees, today’s volunteers are helping New Yorkers to benefit from cleaner air, lower summer air temperatures, improved air quality, and slowed climate change.”

Volunteers cared for and beautified a new forest site of over 9,000 tree saplings that was created in the park through MillionTreesNYC, an initiative to plant and care for one million trees by 2017 and a key component of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC to create a healthier and more sustainable New York City. Young trees face many natural and man-made threats from the urban environment and require ongoing maintenance to survive. The ‘Dig It’ volunteer effort to remove weeds and invasive plants as well as plant additional trees is crucial to maintain the health and growth of the young forest site.

"Dig It embodies the notion that while one voice can make a difference, it's when we all come together -- business and artists, government and nonprofits, citizens and activists -- that real sustainable social and environmental impact is made," said Theresa Palermo, Timberland's senior director of marketing for North America. "We hosted one of our very first Dig It events here in New York last fall, and we're excited to be back in New York today to build on the relationships and good work we started a year ago."

“Dig It” is an extension of Timberland‘s Earthkeeper Network and commitment to urban greening, community building and engaging one million consumers across the globe to support environmental stewardship. The company combines service and celebration at Dig It events, bringing together citizens, celebrities, corporations, governments and non-profits all for the good of the environment.

‘Dig It’ in Van Cortlandt Park is presented by The Timberland Company and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, with additional sponsorship provided by Honest Tea and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

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CONTACT: Vickie Karp/Jesslyn Moser (212) 360-1311