Ever wonder what happened to the American Chestnut? At the turn  of the 20th century, the American chestnut towered over other trees in Eastern  forests. The trees would grow as much as 100 feet high, and 13 feet wide. According to legend, a squirrel could scamper from New England to Georgia on the canopies of American chestnuts, never touching the ground.

And then, the trees began to disappear, succumbing to a mysterious fungus. The fungus first appeared in New York City in 1904—and  then it spread. By the 1950s, the fungus had wiped out billions of trees, and effectively finished off the American chestnut.

Now, some folks are trying to resurrect the American chestnut– including a longtime Prospect Park Alliance volunteer, Bart Chezar, who works closely with the Prospect Park Alliance’s Landscape Management Team.

Take a listen to WNYC’s Science Friday segment.

Learn more about Prospect Park Alliance’s work to sustain the environment.

Prospect Park Alliance recently completed a survey of more than half of Prospect Park’s 30,000 trees through $113,000 in Urban Forestry grants from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The survey focused on the park’s landscaped trees and trees in wooded areas less than 25 feet from a path. This information provides a more nuanced picture of the park’s evolving ecosystem, as well as important insights into the economic, environmental and health benefits of this urban green space. The Alliance commissioned the survey, which was conducted by Davey Resource Group, to create a management plan to help track the park’s tree maintenance and planting needs in the coming years. 

Some top line results of the 15,698 trees surveyed in Prospect Park:

• The surveyed trees provide more than $2 million in annual environmental benefits. This includes:
  • Air quality: 21,000 pounds of pollutants removed from the air each year, valued at $132,000;
  • Greenhouse gas benefits: 3,000 tons removed from the air, valued at $17,000;
  • Energy benefits: equivalent to 1,300 megawatt hours saved, valued at close to $862,000;
  • Storm water runoff benefits: 22 million gallons saved from the city sewer system, valued at $181,000.
• 203 species of trees found in the park, including numerous varieties of native cherries, maples and oaks, as well as less common species included the Southern magnolia, a fragrant, flowering tree whose northern range is growing due to climate change, and the bald cypress, which typically grows in swampy conditions and sends up knobby root growths called “knees.”
• The largest tree surveyed has a diameter of 77 inches, or 6 feet, 5 inches across! This specimen tree, an American elm located near the Bandshell, is estimated to be over 100 years old.

Want to help sustain this vital community resource? One way to support this important work is through the Alliance’s Commemorative Tree Program. During planting seasons that take place each fall and spring, members of the community have the opportunity to plant a new tree in Prospect Park. Through this program, roughly 1,100 trees have been planted over the past 30 years. In addition, each year the Alliance plants a community tree on Arbor Day: learn more about how to get involved in this community celebration.

Want to learn more about Prospect Park’s trees? Check out the Prospect Park TreeKeeper Interactive Map to get info on each of the surveyed trees and their benefit to the community.

Prospect Park is an arboreal wonderland! Through a $75,000 Urban Forestry Grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Prospect Park Alliance recently surveyed roughly 12,000 of the park’s 30,000 trees as part of its work in caring for the Park’s natural areas.

The survey not only provides a more nuanced picture of the park’s evolving ecosystem, but important insights into the economic, environmental and health benefits of Brooklyn’s Backyard. Conducted by Davey Resource Group (DRG), a well-respected urban forestry consultancy that has worked extensively in New York City, you can examine the results on the Prospect Park TreeKeeper Interactive Map.

“The survey has provided exciting insight into what we already knew were some of the park’s most important treasures, its trees,” said Prospect Park Alliance President Sue Donoghue. “We are all aware of how special this urban green space is, but now with this data we can quantify the economic benefit our community receives from these trees. It clearly reinforces just how precious this resource is, and how we must all do our part to care for it.”

During the survey, arborists inventoried trees primarily in the landscaped areas of the park, a total of 12,414 trees. Among the findings:

• The surveyed trees provide more than $1.5 million in annual environmental benefits. This includes:

  • Air quality: 24,000 pounds of pollutants removed from the air each year, valued at $125,000;

  • Greenhouse gas benefits: 3,000 tons removed from the air, valued at $17,000;

  • Energy benefits: equivalent to 1,000 megawatt hours saved, valued at close to $700,000;

  • Storm water runoff benefits: 21 million gallons saved from the city sewer system, valued at $172,000.

• There is a plethora of trees to be found in the park, including the 84 genera and 193 species represented in this survey. This includes numerous varieties of native cherries, maples and oaks, representing 41% of the trees surveyed, as well as less common species included the Southern magnolia, a fragrant, flowering tree whose northern range is growing due to climate change, and the bald cypress, which typically grows in swampy conditions and sends up knobby root growths called “knees.”

• The largest tree surveyed has a diameter of 77 inches, or 6 feet, 5 inches across! This specimen tree, an American elm located near the Bandshell, is estimated to be over 100 years old.

• The inventory also identified challenges faced by the park’s trees. The overall condition of the inventoried tree population is rated fair, however, 8% of the inventoried trees had stress caused by humans.

• Emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle, was detected in the park’s ash tree population. And, though they have not been detected in Prospect Park, Gypsy moths and Asian Longhorn beetles pose the biggest threats to the health of the inventoried tree population.

• A tree survey metric, “replacement value,” describes the historical investment in trees over time. The surveyed park trees have an estimated replacement value of more than $59 million!

In completing this report, DRG put together a Prospect Park Tree Management Plan, charting out the tree maintenance and planting needs in the park for the next five years. “By tracking the park’s trees, the Alliance can better care for these important natural resources, which play a big role in Brooklyn’s quality of life,” said John Jordan, Director of Landscape Management at Prospect Park Alliance.

There is a long way to go for Prospect Park Alliance to keep this vital community resource healthy and safe. Contributions from community members help sustain the park’s trees and fund the Alliance’s team of arborists and natural resources crew.

One way to support this important work is through the Alliance’s Commemorative Giving Tree Program. During planting seasons that take place each fall and spring, members of the community have the opportunity to plant a new tree in Prospect Park. Through this program, roughly 1,100 trees have been planted over the past 30 years. Each year, the Alliance plants a community tree on Arbor Day: learn more about how to get involved in this community celebration.

Want to learn more about Prospect Park’s trees? Check out the Prospect Park TreeKeeper Interactive Map to get info on each of the surveyed trees and their benefit to the community.

On a recent spring morning, Prospect Park Alliance kicked off a survey of trees in Prospect Park as part of its work in caring for the Park’s natural areas. This project is funded through a $75,000 Urban Forestry Grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). 

As part of its mission to sustain, restore and advance Prospect Park, Prospect Park Alliance has been working to revitalize the Park’s natural areas over the past two decades, a more than 20-year, $15 million investment that has encompassed the planting of more than 500,000 trees, plants and shrubs. Alliance staff include trained arborists, horticulturalists, a forest ecologist and a Natural Resources Crew. The results of this investment can be seen in the transformation of these once-derelict areas into some of the Park’s most scenic destinations.

Over the past two years, through $1.2 million in grants from the National Parks Service through the Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Assistance Grant Program for Historic Properties, administered by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Alliance has been restoring the woodlands in two areas particularly devastated by Hurricane Sandy and other severe storms: the Vale of Cashmere in the northeast corner of the park, and Lookout Hill near the Nethermead and Peninsula (the Alliance lost 500 throughout the park due to Hurricane Sandy, with 50 alone in the Vale of Cashmere). This work was highlighted in a 2017 article in The New York Times, and brought to the park a crew of goats who helped clear the areas of invasive weeds in an environmentally friendly way. The work concludes this year with the planting of Lookout Hill.

The New York Times also highlighted the Alliance’s work to sustain the Park’s natural areas, announcing a partnership with the Natural Areas Conservancy to pilot a 25-year plan to enhance and protect New York City’s vital urban forests. The timing is ideal, since the Alliance is wrapping up its own 25-year plan to restore the woodlands, and these treasured natural areas are beset by new challenges, including climate change and the threat of invasive pests and diseases such as Emerald Ash Borer and Oak Wilt. This pilot program will enable the Alliance to share best practices with other parks citywide, and strengthen its expertise and knowledge base in woodlands restoration.

The Alliance’s work to restore the woodlands is also highlighted on the PBS program Metrofocus. View this video below:

With respect to the tree survey, a team of arborists from Davey Resource Group, a well-respected urban forestry consultant that has worked extensively in New York City, is collecting data on an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 trees in the Park, representing about half of the total tree population. The inventory will catalog the various attributes of Prospect Park’s trees—species, size and location to name a few. The survey will also include invasive insect, pest and disease detection to help the Alliance in its care of the Park’s trees, “the lungs” of Brooklyn. The inventory will focus on trees in the Park’s landscaped areas. The results of the inventory will help the Alliance, in partnership with the City, strategically maintain and enhance these trees to benefit generations to come.

“By tracking the Park’s trees, the Alliance can better care for these important natural resources, which play a big role in Brooklyn’s quality of life,” said John Jordan, director of Landscape Management at Prospect Park Alliance. “Trees cleanse the air we breathe; reduce the amount of stormwater runoff that reaches the city’s overburdened sewer system; provide shade that helps conserve energy by cooling buildings and paved surfaces; and even help people feel calmer and more quickly heal from sickness.”  

Love Prospect Park? Plant or adopt a tree to celebrate a special occasion or loved one.
 

Today, the New York State Departments of Agriculture and Markets (DAM) and Environmental Conservation (DEC) confirmed the first-ever discovery of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) in New York City in Prospect Park.  Of an initial survey of 10 suspected trees in Prospect Park by Prospect Park Alliance—the non-profit that cares for the Park in partnership with the City, three were confirmed to be infested by this invasive pest by a Cornell University researcher. 

Prospect Park Alliance has removed three trees to date that succumbed to this infestation, located along the Ocean Avenue perimeter of the Park, and additional affected trees in this area will be removed over the winter. NYC Parks, DEC, DAM and Prospect Park Alliance are taking immediate action to limit the spread of infestation and protect New York City’s more than 51,000 ash trees.

“The Emerald Ash Borer infestation was detected in Prospect Park thanks to vigilant monitoring of the tree population by Prospect Park Alliance arborists, a year-round tree crew committed to the protection and preservation of the Park’s 30,000 trees,” said John Jordan, Director of Landscape Management for Prospect Park Alliance. “The Alliance will continue to monitor ash trees in the Park, and will work closely with New York City Parks Department, USDA and DEC to continue tracking and responding to this infestation.”

EAB is a non-native species of beetle whose larvae kill trees by burrowing into the inner bark and thus interrupting the circulation of water and vital nutrients. EAB-infested trees are characterized by thin crowns, sprouts on the trunks of the trees, and the signature d-shaped exit holes adult beetles leave on trees’ bark. EAB only affects ash trees, which constitute roughly three percent of NYC’s street trees. EAB has been present in New York State since 2009.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo recently awarded a $75,000 Urban Forestry Grant to the Prospect Park Alliance to conduct a tree inventory of Prospect Park. The inventory will include an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 trees in the landscaped areas of the park, representing about half of the total population. The tree inventory will include an invasive insect, pest, and disease detection survey by incorporating the USDA Forest Service early pest detection protocol (IPED).

Help support Prospect Park Alliance’s work to sustain the Park’s 30,000 trees by donating a commemorative tree; becoming a member or making a donation to the Alliance.
 
Additional information about EAB is available on the DEC website.

In these cold winter months, some aspects of Park maintenance go into a state of hibernation, and many Alliance staff members wait patiently and plan for the upcoming spring season. Not so for arborists Francisco Davila and Christopher Gucciardo, who take full advantage of the opportunities afforded by the winter.

“Our job is year-round,” says Francisco Davila, Arboriculture Supervisor for Prospect Park Alliance, “and every season brings its own set of tasks.”  Prospect Park Alliance arborists have a big task set for them in the care and maintenance of the Park’s more than 30,000 trees, which represent more than 200 species. This is Brooklyn’s last remaining forest, and it is an important wildlife habitat that supports more than 250 species of birds, and countless other creatures.

So what exactly does an arborist do during this chilly time of year? “During the winter we focus on tree pruning and assessments. Since trees are without leaves, winter does provide us the luxury to very quickly spot issues such as cracks, rubbing branches and of course dead limbs. Winter is also a great time for us to scout and plan the future of our canopy by selecting planting sites for our Commemorative Tree Program.”

During this season, it isn’t uncommon to happen upon Davila and his crew taking down tree limbs or removing a tree altogether. So why are they doing this? “Being in a historic park such as Prospect Park we have a lot of beautiful mature trees. We are never happy to remove trees but when we do, it’s because of warranted reasons,” said Davila. When his crew or a Park visitor spots a damaged or unhealthy tree, they assess the situation, “we try to evaluate the tree’s integrity and potential risks to determine if we are going to remove it. The same goes for tree limbs. In making these decisions, overall safety always comes first.”

One of the most fun aspects of winter work for an arborist? “The new views you get from the canopy,” says Davila. “Since the trees have lost their leaves, when you are climbing you get new vast unobstructed views. It’s awesome.”

The life of a city tree is never an easy one, but the Alliance arborists work year-round to keep these Park residents happy and healthy, so next time you take a walk in the Park, look up! You might just see an arborist taking in the view.

Learn more about the Commemorative Tree Program.