With the help of these working hands and many others, the goal of planting one million trees in New York City is becoming a reality. The public-private program, MillionTreesNYC organized volunteers and elementary school kids to plant trees on Arbor Day in the Bronx.
[Omari Washington, Education Manager, New York Restoration Project]:
“As of the group that was right over here planting flowers and they did such a great job. Some of them have never planted anything in their lives, but they really just dug in. They listened to directions.”
[Tylene Greene, Student with “Respect Trees” Program]:
“I’m happy because it makes our environment better and it shows that even in a neighborhood that looks kind of bad, when you plant a tree it can make it look better.”
[Jessica M. Hernandez, Civic Corps Volunteer]:
“It’s going to be a lot of planting. In a couple of weeks we are going to have like a green event and it’s going to involve kids, adults, seniors.”
According to plan, one million new trees will be planted until 2017. The “MillionTreesNYC” was launched in 2007 by New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, the Parks Department and other public and private partners, like Actress Bette Midler and her organization New York Restoration Project.
[Bette Midler, Actress, Founder of New York Restoration Project]:
“You know before all this development came on, before New York became a big commercial center it was a completely forested…”
Fifteen years ago, when Bette Midler returned to New York after years of being away, she was shocked by the neglect and filth she saw in her home city.
[Omari Washington, Education Manager, New York Restoration Project]:
“She drove up and down the West Side and East Side of Manhattan, and noticed that there was a lot of land right next to the rivers, the Hudson and the Harlem, that was pretty devastated, there was trash, there were tires from cars.”
Bette started working and involving others to change the city back to what she felt it should be.
[Bette Midler, Actress, Founder of New York Restoration Project]:
“Every New Yorker, cooperate employees, residents, school children, families, nonprofits, and of course government agencies and our dearest partners New York City Parks Department, we all have to participate.”
So far, more than 500,000 trees have been planted in parks and along main streets in all of the five boroughs of the city.
“It’s great for New York because of all the storms we have had recently.”
“It’s important to give back to our environment especially with trees.”
[Omari Washington, Education Manager, New York Restoration Project]:
“You can’t look at something as beautiful as this”¦You can’t help but think that that’s going to change something.”
