New School students plant 7,000 trees

Volunteers enlist to support MillionTreesNYC

Timon McPhearson, assistant professor of urban ecology at The New School for Public Engagement

New York, October 17 - New School students will help plant more than 7,000 trees in a multi-day city-wide forest restoration project organized by MillionTreesNYC, an initiative co-sponsored by the New York Restoration Project and the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation. Under the direction of Timon McPhearson, assistant professor of urban ecology at The New School for Public Engagement, New School participants will volunteer in Marine Park, Brooklyn and Clearview Park, Queens on Saturday, October 22, and at Fort Totten Park in Queens on Wednesday, October 26.

"New York City's forests can play a pivotal role improving the urban ecosystem," said McPhearson, whose research addresses repair of damaged biosystems through adaptive management and individual action. "Urban forests help cool the city, clean its air, improve its capacity to store storm water, and enlarge the habitat of wildlife that make their home in New York. Our volunteers will be advancing key facets of our sustainability agenda, improving urban life for New Yorkers simply by planting trees."

In addition to the environmental benefits, reforestation also has economic advantages. The increased appeal of well-forested neighborhoods increases property values and adds to a community's positive perception of itself. The long-term goal of MillionTreesNYC is to increase the size of New York's forests by 2000 acres, which environmentalists recognize as a critical component of the city's ambitious goal of improving quality of life for every New Yorker through greater focus on sustainable natural resources.

Although the New School students are volunteering their time and energy, many are enrolled in academic programs focused on environmentalism, including a new graduate degree in environmental policy and sustainability management, offered by the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy.

This annual tree-planting invites New Yorkers to plant trees in forested areas and on city streets to help MillionTrees reach one million new trees in the coming decade. Many of the New School students spent the summer studying the effect of forest restoration on urban ecosystems, and more recently, preparing these sites for mass planting.

To find out how you can join The New School as a participant in the next MillionTreesNYC planting event, contact: Charlie Mielczarek ([email protected])

About The New School
The New School, based in the heart of New York City's Greenwich Village, is a legendary, progressive university inspiring undergraduates, graduate students and others to catalyze change in an inconstant world. Founded in 1919 as a hub of intellectual freedom by a group that included Charles Beard, James Harvey Robinson, John Dewey, and Thorstein Veblen, The New School today is a major degree-granting university comprised of distinct academic divisions. The university's 10,500 students are enrolled in 88 degree programs in the humanities and social sciences, design, administration and management, and the performing arts. In addition, the university's campus welcomes 3,544 adult learners in more than 650 continuing education courses every year. The New School holds hundreds of public programs that exemplify its commitment to democratic practice and social justice. For more information, visit www.newschool.edu.

COMMUNICATIONS AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

79 Fifth Avenue,
New York, NY 10003
www.newschool.edu

PRESS RELEASE

Media Contacts:

Sam Biederman
212.229.5667x3094
[email protected]