Support our campaign: More Trees. Less Trash.
Introducing our bold, but simple new campaign: “More Trees. Less Trash.”
Our goal is to plant 120 new trees alongside Riverside Drive, and install 60 new solar-powered trash-compacting receptacles throughout the Park. Your support will mean a greener and cleaner Riverside Park.
Please click here to support the campaign!
Goal #1: Plant 120 trees in empty beds on Riverside Drive.
Imagine Riverside without trees. Trees give our beautiful, six-mile stretch of parkland its unique character. In addition to their natural beauty, our 26,000 trees provide enormous relief on hot summer days – making it feel up to 40 degrees cooler.
As our best assets in the fight against climate change, trees are vulnerable to severe weather, disease and other risk factors that impact their health and survival.
Right now, there are 120 empty beds on Riverside Drive where trees once stood.
Due to ongoing cuts to the NYC Parks budget, there is a minimum three-year wait for the City to plant a new street tree. The Conservancy has a faster solution. We can hire our own contractor and work in sections to plant trees quickly for less than half the cost – only $1,000 per tree.
Goal #2: Install 60 new solar-powered trash compactor bins.
Summer means more park users, which means more trash in our Park. Unfortunately, the NYC Parks’ seasonal workforce responsible for trash removal in our district is at an all-time low. While this team works hard every day, their jobs are made even harder because not all trash receptacles were created equal.
Especially in the northern areas of the Park, many idyllic views are marred by rusty, overflowing trash barrels. Not only do these ugly cans signal neglect, but they’re also woefully inadequate to hold the volume of trash generated in a single afternoon.
The Conservancy wants to replace the barrels with solar-powered, compacting receptacles that are rodent-proof and can hold 4X as much trash. And we have a head start, thanks to a generous donor who offered to match the campaign, dollar for dollar, up to $100,000. With your help, we can maximize this opportunity and bring 60 state-of-the-art, earth-friendly bins to locations where they’re needed most.
