Rooted Brooklyn

“You and the tree in your backyard come from a common ancestor. A billion and a half years ago, the two of you parted ways.” The Overstory, Richard Powers.

The Rooted Brooklyn project will be focused on supporting young street trees in Brooklyn, New York. Five high school-aged youth will participate in the project during the summer of 2024. They will tend to young trees in tree pits--clearing trash, weeding, aerating soil, adding compost, mulching, and watering. These young trees have all been planted by the New York City Parks Department, but the Parks Department does not have the funding to care for trees once they are planted. Caring for these trees becomes the responsibility of New York City community members–and we have accepted the challenge!

In addition to benefiting trees in our community, this project offers young people an opportunity to learn about tree care, contribute to community well-being, practice leadership skills, and earn an allowance. This project is good for both young trees and young people!

The program is 4 weeks long, running from July 8th--August 1st. Two adults will offer an overall structure for the project, including organizing tasks for each day and providing oversight, guidance, and training. The kids will do the actual work! At the end of the summer, Kids will be provided with an allowance that honors the time they have contributed to the project.

In general, kids will take ownership of this project--ideally, there will be very light supervision. Leadership skills such as organizing and delegating tasks, working cooperatively, problem-solving, and taking responsibility for the project will be encouraged.

On Thursdays, kids will not be in the field, and will instead focus on tree-related projects and activities. They might go on an educational field trip to learn about street tree care, create a short documentary about the project, write a weekly newsletter, or plan and lead an educational activity for younger kids who want to learn about caring for New York City street trees. Kids will be in charge of setting up and executing these Thursday projects.

This project addresses two issues in our Brooklyn community. Firstly, many trees paid for by New York City taxpayers and planted by the NYC Parks Department are neglected and uncared for during their young years when they are most vulnerable. We have observed illegal dumping, extensive damage by vehicles, and general neglect of many street trees in our community. In addition, tree pit soil needs to be enriched and trees require regular watering during the hot summer months.

Secondly, our young people want to do something meaningful and important, something that makes a positive contribution to their community. Kids also want to take ownership and make decisions about activities they are involved in.

This project is a win-win for our kids and our community!