Last of the Million Trees Given Away at BBG

New Yorkers thronged to Brooklyn Botanic Garden this weekend to collect the last hundred trees given out by MillionTreesNYC. The campaign launched in 2007 as a partnership between the city and the New York Restoration Project (NYRP), a nonprofit urban greening organization founded by Bette Midler.

The goal, of course: to plant one million additional trees in the five boroughs, increasing the city's total coverage by 20 percent. To that end, the city planted public park and street trees; the NYRP focused on greening other community sites and private homes, distributing 50,000 trees at botanic gardens, stores, and schools. Saturday’s event was the final giveaway.

“For those of us who really watched this campaign from the beginning, it’s kind of momentous to realize that the final number has been reached,” says Nina Browne, BBG’s GreenBridge program manager.

Trees were given away to residents from all over the borough. Those who applied to receive them provided assurance that they had a place to plant them—either a suitable spot in their yard or building lot, or in a community or school garden.