This year, with the help of 56 volunteers and one Grinch, we recycled over 1,000 Christmas trees! The trees were, as we like to call it, “tree-cycled” into nutrient-rich mulch that will support park landscapes throughout the year. Volunteers sorted branches for wreath making and worked together to “de-Christmas” trees by removing ornaments and lights, before chipping them into fresh mulch. The wood chips created will be used throughout Riverside Park to prep the soils and plantings in gardens and along park pathways.
MulchFest is a citywide NYC Parks initiative and community effort that gives Christmas trees a second purpose. Each year, tens of thousands of trees are recycled across the city rather than sent to landfills, returning valuable nutrients back to the earth. New Yorkers can drop off their Christmas trees annually at any park entrance for recycling until January 31st. Thank you again to everyone who helped make this year’s MulchFest such a meaningful, and especially fragrant, experience!
