Today, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Alex Felson, Assistant Professor at Yale University's School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Patrice Kleinberg, Director of Education & Visitor Services at the Queens Botanical Garden and eighth graders from East West School of International Studies in Flushing, celebrated a research and reforestation collaboration between the Parks Department and Yale University at Kissena Corridor Park by planting trees and collecting data on the existing trees that were planted last fall.
"The Parks Department is proud to partner with Yale University to learn more about caring for trees in the urban environment while also putting down roots for future foresters and horticulturalists by engaging local students. This project, along with work by Parks' Natural Resources Group (NRG), has helped revitalize this area of city forest by planting new trees and removing invasive plants," said Commissioner Benepe. "NRG continues to grow its research initiatives and share best practices for the natural urban landscape as we recently opened the Urban Field Station in nearby Fort Totten, which will allow researchers from all over the world to study urban forests right here in New York City."
The Parks Department's Natural Resources Group (NRG) and Yale University's School of Forestry & Environmental Studies partnered to restore the natural areas of Kissena Corridor Park and study tree management practices. The reforestation and research project included science education for local students through Yale University and the Queens Botanical Garden.
Parks has now completed a 16.5-acre, $1.03-million capital project to reforest Kissena Corridor Park. Over the past two years, invasive weeds that dominated the natural landscape have been removed including mugwort, phragmites, porcelainberry and knotweed. A total of 28 research plots (56 subplots) have also been installed. Results of this research will help guide natural resource management decisions. The reforestation initiative builds on the forest restoration work that Parks' NRG has been conducting since 1984 to expand forested areas and increase tree canopy across the city.
