Our goal: 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.
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.
London Plane
One of NYC’s most common street species, there are more than 80,000 London Plane trees across the five boroughs.
