Have you ever wondered who takes care of the 2.5 million trees in NYC? Trees New York, of course! Specifically, the Citizen Pruners -- civilians like you and I who are trained by Trees New York to prune and care for street trees. For years I have wanted to be a Citizen Pruner and this year, I decided to make it happen.
The course meets four week nights in May and then one Saturday out with the trees. There are six locations - two in Manhattan and one in each of the other boroughs. And at $90, I think it's a bargain. What a skill! I do believe you get a badge.
Join me! I'd love to see some Apartment Therapy readers learning to take care of the trees in their neighborhood. I'm doing the course at the downtown Manhattan location. Let's get a team together. skgr
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Comments (4)
Are these the same people that cut the plastic bags out of the trees?
I rememeber reading somewhere (a long time ago) that someone in the city had a special device to cut the bags down that get stuck in the branches.
Urban legend??? I've never seen them.
Good for you skgr! Those trees need lots of tlc, and I worry that no one takes care of them... The street tree in front of my house keeps getting destroyed by drunk people walking to the subway from the bars further east. We just got a new one and I want it to last long enough to need pruning.
This is so cool! Congratulations on your commitment.
i really want to do it too. i wish it were free. it's fine that you must buy your own tools, but i have a problem with paying money to volunteer my time. doesn't it make sense to provide free training in exchange for free labor?