Newburgh EJ Fellowship Community Tree Celebration October 29th
Release: Immediately
Contact: Kathy Lawrence, Greater Newburgh Parks Conservancy (914) 708-7052
Info@newburghparksconservancy.org
"Leaf this world better than you found it, and plant your legacy," by joining Newburgh's very own Environmental Justice Fellowship for our second community event of 2022.
This year's fellows, Elio Luna, Gema Vidals-Herrera, Kwaija McFarlane, Monserrat Medina, and Thomas Coleman, will all be there to meet community members and hear their thoughts on Newburgh trees. During the rough drought this summer - and for the first three years after planting - Newburgh's trees are in dire need of love and attention (watering, cleaning of tree beds, evaluation for disease and/or injury of tree limbs or trunk, etc.), so we’ll also be teaching folks about caring for trees.
Over the summer, the EJ Fellows were busy preparing for this fall’s planting season, ultimately recommending over 60 potential locations for new street trees, some in each of our City’s four wards. With help and cooperation from local residents and our TreeKeeper inventory, the Fellows honed in on several of the many City streets that are missing trees and need the benefits they provide, including protection from the sun and heat, improved air quality and reduced respiratory ailments, stormwater mitigation and much more!
The Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) and City arborist are choosing the final planting places and working with nearby nurseries, the Department of Public Works and, where needed, local tree companies to get the trees purchased and planted. The Newburgh City Council approved in the CAC’s budget the planting of 80 trees this fall, 40 of which are directly informed by the summer work of the EJ Fellows. So, Newburghers will soon be seeing many more trees beautifying Newburgh’s streets.
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To help spread the word and encourage more residents and business owners to be actively involved in the care of street trees, the EJ Fellowship is hosting a community tree celebration October 29th. The event will be held in Audrey Carey Park, 251 Liberty St, Newburgh, NY 12550 from 12pm - 3pm (rain date: Sunday, October 30th). Please join us for energizing music and refreshments, to learn about caring for trees in your neighborhood and to hear more about Newburgh's endeavors to create a safe, green environment for all of its residents! Most of all, come meet the incredible and inspiring 2022 EJ Fellows!
The Environmental Justice Fellowship, a collaboration of the Greater Newburgh Parks Conservancy, Outdoor Promise and the Conservation Advisory Council, is dedicated to planting and encouraging community care of trees in all four Wards of the City. In 2021, the Fellowship helped get 33 trees planted citywide. We look forward to introducing more Newburghers to those trees, along with the 80 additional trees to be planted this month under the guidance of the CAC!
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