Our goal: Plant trees in empty beds on Riverside Drive and in Riverside Park.
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 than direct sun exposure.
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 dozens of empty beds on Riverside Drive where trees once stood.
The Conservancy wants to plant trees in these empty spaces now and keep filling in gaps so we can strengthen our urban tree canopy. We’re committed to investing in immediate, tangible solutions like more trees for our park.
Say hello to Riverside Park’s newest trees! 👋
Thanks to the incredible response from 500+ donors to our “More Trees. Less Trash.” campaign, 54 trees are being planted right NOW on Riverside Drive! The planting crew started their work yesterday, so be on the lookout for new trees coming to your neighborhood over the next couple of days.
With your support, we’ve been able to move much more quickly, getting these trees in the ground within months of launching this campaign. We’re looking forward to carrying this momentum through the spring and planting even more trees throughout the Park — while at the same time giving this first round of new trees the special care they need to grow big and strong.
Trees are essential, giving our 400 acres of parkland its unique character and providing shade and cooling on hot days. As we grapple with more frequent extreme weather events, trees play an increasingly critical role in mitigating the impacts of climate change. Read more about the tree species planted below.
A Growing Tree Canopy
As part of the campaign, the following trees will be planted in key areas across the Park. Learn more about each tree below:
Elm (Ulmus americana ‘Princeton’)
The pride of Riverside Drive, these stately trees used to be a fixture in American towns and cities. With the stress of Dutch Elm Disease present here in NYC, we plant cultivars of Elms that are more resistant to the disease. We also work diligently to treat as many Elms as possible at Riverside with an inoculant that builds up their ability to fight off the disease. The Princeton cultivar was developed in 1922 at Princeton Nurseries and can tolerate tough urban conditions.
A mature American Elm can capture roughly 7,000 gallons of stormwater each year.
Yellowwood (Cladastris kentukea)
Kentucky Yellowwood’s fall color is unmatched. With a beautiful, rounded crown it’s hard to miss the stunning display of yellow leaves in the fall. Their gorgeous, fragrant, pea-like flowers may not be as noticeable every year, as they tend to have years that are better than others. You can expect them to be at their best every 2 to 3 years. unsurprisingly due to this tree’s name, the heartwood is in fact yellow.
A mature Yellowwood can capture roughly 3,000 gallons of stormwater each year.
Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)
Oaks are the heavy hitters when it comes to caring for wildlife. Many species of caterpillars rely on the leaves of oaks as food. Birds in turn can find vital food to raise their young on. Squirrels can be seen taking acorns away to eat later in the year.
Linden (genus Tilia)
Lindens provide some of the best, dense shade along Riverside Drive, with heart shaped leaves these trees also provide beautiful fall color and glorious flowers in the springtime. Lindens have long been revered by different cultures for bringing joy, peace, and good fortune.
Annual benefits of a mature Linden can reach values of $300 a year.
London Plane
London Planes are tough trees that do well in our urban environment. Their leaves are the symbol of the parks department, and the bark is one of the most identifiable characteristics of the species. The molted multi color bark exfoliates and falls off the tree, a strategy that may help reduce the impacts of pests and diseases.
A mature London Plane can remove roughly 5 pounds of air pollutants each year.
