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Alison Stewart: This is All of It, on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. Let's talk free trees. Have you ever dreamed of a black cherry tree in your yard? Maybe a flowering dogwood or a winged sumac is more your style? Beginning April 15th, you can get these and many other saplings for free, as part of the New York Restoration Project's free tree giveaway. NYRPs tree giveaway is aimed at distributing 3,500 native species trees all around five boroughs.

These trees can help create more shade and cleaner air, and also build up New York City's tree canopy. To walk us through the process, we're joined by the executive director of the New York Restoration Project, Lynn Kelly. Hi, Lynn.

Lynn Kelly: Hi. Nice to see you. Thanks for having me.

Alison Stewart: Of course. This organization has this interesting origin story. Some people may know this, but Bette Middler founded in 1995. Can you tell us about her efforts?

Lynn Kelly: Yes. She founded a New York restoration project nearly 30 years ago, and with a very simple concept in mind, which was roll up your sleeves, help clean up, let's make New York City greener. It's what she literally did. She went into parks with friends and colleagues, picked up trash. That morphed, over time, to partnerships with organizations and with city parks. Today, NYRP cares for 80 acres of city parkland up in northern Manhattan, Sherman Creek Park, and Highbridge Park.

We have 52 community gardens, all throughout New York City, that we work with volunteers and gardeners, to program and plant. We've built well over 350 different green spaces gardens throughout New York during our history.

Alison Stewart: That's the origin of the restoration project. Let's talk about the Million Trees NYC Initiative. When did that start?

Lynn Kelly: Yes. Million Trees actually started back in 2009, and again, was a great partnership between Bloomberg Philanthropies and New York City Parks. The objective behind Million Trees, it seems obvious, plant a million trees, but really, it was about getting trees and helping our urban tree canopy in New York City, and improving conditions. The objective of the giveaways was to get trees on private property in every borough in New York, and especially, in places that did not have as dense of an urban tree canopy.

Like, for example, South Bronx, Far Rockaway, Canarsie, Brownsville. Long-term now, we're back to the point where we've looked at public property and private property, and we're continuing with tree giveaways, hopefully with more private properties, through our program. It was a very successful program, because let's face it, who doesn't love trees? We want more of them in our neighborhood.

Alison Stewart: That million tree project worked, you got to a million trees.

Lynn Kelly: Yes.

Alison Stewart: Then why was the thought, "Let's keep going"?

Lynn Kelly: Because it's not enough, frankly. New York City has made great progress in increasing trees, and other environmental efforts in the right direction, but there's still many neighborhoods in New York that lack access to quality green space, and to have trees. This goes back, historically, to unfortunate practices around redlining and other environmental injustices that have resulted in communities in New York, low-income, that due to zoning and other regulations, have lived without access to green space or trees.

There's still more work to do. We've made great strides, there's no question, but you and I both know that there are neighborhoods in New York, you can walk around, and in the summertime and other parts of the year, it's incredibly hot. Much hotter than other neighborhoods. That's called Urban Heat Island Effect. Until we can have equity in green space across New York, our work is not done.

Alison Stewart: I'm talking to Lynn Kelly, executive director of the New York Restoration Project. We're talking about the free tree giveaway. You touched on this a little bit, but aside from just looking beautiful, when we think about improving New York's tree canopy, how does that intersect climate change?

Lynn Kelly: The first thing that I want to point out is, it's really important, when you plant trees, that you look at native tree species. They're like our army. They are with us, they've been here. There's a reason that they have lasted in this environment. The species that we're going to be giving out are, in fact, native tree species. As the climate warms in New York, storms become more intense, and weather is unpredictable, these species can actually handle hot temperatures, storms, and they are air-purifying powerhouses.

That's the only way I can put it. It's not going to solve everything with climate change, but the additional stormwater capture, the fact that they're beneficial for urban wildlife, the more you plant native species, the less opportunity for invasive species to come to New York. A lot of the different bugs and insects that we don't want here, native species protect us from. The variety, some of the ones that you've mentioned are perfect for that.

We're going to be offering redbuds, black cherries, magnolias. I'm actually really excited about pin oaks, not just for their beauty, but they grow fast.

Alison Stewart: Yes. I know you wanted to make a pitch for the pin oak. Give me the pin oak elevator pitch.

Lynn Kelly: Pin oaks are great. You might know them, if you're not a tree person. I, too, am learning every day. They turn bright red in the fall, but they grow really fast. They have a unique leaf shape. Actually, I'll say that if you want to learn more about our trees and register to get these trees, I'm going to direct everyone to our website. You want to go to nyrp.org/freetree, just like it sounds, free tree. Not only will you see the schedule of registration, and we'll mention that in a moment.

It's a really cool tool, that you can scroll down to the bottom of the page and there's a link to each of the different tree species, with photos of what they look like, all year round. I mentioned pin oak, because if you go there, they love full sun, they're tough, they're New Yorkers. They're native species. They can handle the weather and the grit, and they still look beautiful. Can you think of any other allegory for New York than a pin oak? I can't.

Alison Stewart: Let's walk through the process. Somebody's hearing this and thinking, "Yes, I'd really like to get a tree." What does it look like? What can people expect when they go to the website and then when they show up, frankly?

Lynn Kelly: Sure. We make it super easy. The first thing is, it's really important to register, which I just mentioned. Go to the website, nyrp.org/freetree, really simple form. There will also be on the website a date and location, via the form. Registration is mandatory in order to get the tree of your choice. Also on the website is a list of dates. You could see, like, is there one in your neighborhood, in a local organization, partner, or park, that you might be aware of, or is there a date that better fits your schedule?

Register, register, and did I say please register? It's not just about making sure that we're aware of where all the trees are, but it's making sure that you get the choice of what you'd like for your neighborhood.

Alison Stewart: We have someone who's called in, who is very excited about this. This is Tiffany, calling in from the Bronx. Hi, Tiffany.

Tiffany: Hey, how are you?

Alison Stewart: Doing great.

Tiffany: Thank you for taking my call. No, I was really honored to hear your guest, because I'm a relatively newcomer to the Bronx, but now, I just moved to Washington Heights, and for her to mention Highbridge Park and who's taking care of it, is astounding. Ironically, months ago, I was trying to navigate my way over from the Bronx to that neighborhood, and Google Maps took me all the way through Highbridge Park on foot. That's the way it navigated me. I was so delighted to discover it.

It's beautiful, and I hope more people discover it. I encountered an arborist over on the Bronx side, taking care of trees and, to my dismay, taking down limbs, and he was explaining, "This is not a native tree." To discover, and if you're a fan of trees, like I am, to learn about New York City, what is native and what's not, it's really important. I totally applaud your work. It's awesome.

Alison Stewart: Tiffany. Thanks for calling in.

Lynn Kelly: Thank you.

Alison Stewart: So curious, so what would you suggest, Kelly Lynn, that people think about when they're choosing a tree? They might go like, "That's a pretty tree," but we want everybody to be set up for success, trees and the humans.

Lynn Kelly: Right. The first thing I'll say is, anybody can do this. You don't have to be a horticulturist, or an expert gardener. The other thing is, when you pick up the trees, you're picking up saplings. They're essentially like two, three feet long saplings, in a very small pot. You could carry it home, you can get on the train, you can bring your granny carts. Everybody in New York has a granny cart. You put them in your granny cart and you can take them away.

It's easy, easy, easy. Then in terms of care, in advance, think about where are you going to put it. You want to be able to put it on private property, so in a backyard, in a courtyard, in a shared green area, perhaps, in your apartment area, or building. Think about where the sun is coming from. If you look at our tree guide, you can actually pick. Some are better for certain sun conditions, some might be better for others. Make sure you have access to water, obviously.

Rainwater is important, but the first two to three years of a tree is the most important, in terms of really getting it to take root. We want to make sure that once you've planted it, that you'll be able to water it on a fairly regular basis, but it's a lot simpler. It shouldn't be daunting. This is one of the easiest, citizen-forward, citizen-active things you can do to help our environment in New York.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Heather, who's called in from Brooklyn. Hi, Heather. Thanks for calling All Of It. You're on the air.

Heather: Hi. Thanks, Alison. Love your show. Lynn, it's Heather Romero. I just wanted to jump on and say hi.

Lynn Kelly: Hi.

Heather: You know how much I love your organization, and the community garden staff are awesome. Myself and my family are members of the Gil Hodges Community Garden, so just a shout out for that community garden. We're small but mighty, and an important space in Gowanus. There's just all kinds of really important rainwater capture and water mitigation that has happened at that garden. Just a shout out too, we have a memorial tree in that garden, for our family sister.

It's such a lovely space, and a respite, in a place that increasingly has just giant condos and buildings popping up all around it, so my appreciation to NYRP. Come out and visit us in the Gil Hodges Garden.

Alison Stewart: Heather, thanks for calling in. Sarah has tweeted, "Such a great project on Edgecombe Ave. We lost a few decades-old pin oaks in the last few years. I don't see West Harlem on the list of sites #giveaway. Please advise."

Lynn Kelly: We tried to put in as many sites, as we have either partnerships or activities, in many of the dates that were chosen, there's other activities going on that day. For example, some of the sites might be offering free compost amongst partner organizations, so we wish we could hit every location. We'll consider that for the next go-round, assuming that we will continue this program. Believe me, if I had my choice, we'd be in every single place, planting trees on a regular basis.

To Heather, I'll say, what a nice surprise, and lucky for her, the first tree giveaway happens to be in Red Hook, at Red Hook Farms, so not too far from where she's located, at the Gil Hodges Community Garden, that's in Gowanus.

Alison Stewart: I was going to ask, how long is the tree giveaway window?

Lynn Kelly: The first date is April 15th, and our last event is May 21st.

Alison Stewart: Excellent. It's so interesting, we've gotten two calls-- It's so funny, we have two callers who could answer each other's questions. Someone had a question about-- This seems to be all about private property, if you're a resident, and you want to know how to get trees on your street.

Lynn Kelly: Yes. I wish I had the magic wand for that. This is for private property and that's because the process for tree planting on public property, and public property would be, for example, in a neighborhood park, or even a tree pit on a street, is through the city of New York. The process there is challenging. I'll say the Parks Department has made amazing strides this year, in expediting a lot of the applications, but there's a backlog, and there's a long way to go.

I understand why people are anxious to fill those tree pits. Every time there's a storm, a tree comes down.

Alison Stewart: You can go to the New York City Parks website, for your tree. My building, we did it. We got a great tree. Our little pear tree is very happy. [laughs]

Lynn Kelly: Good to hear it.

Alison Stewart: I have a redbud in my backyard, so I'm glad to know that I'm doing my tree part.

Lynn Kelly: Excellent.

Alison Stewart: Once again, could you give out the address for folks who would want the website again?

Lynn Kelly: Yes, please visit nyrp.org/freetree, and please register.

Alison Stewart: Lynn Kelly is Executive Director of the NYRP New York Restoration Project. Thanks.

Lynn Kelly: Thank you. Take care.

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