City of Forest Day takes place Saturday across the five boroughs.

Candace Thompson, manager for Solar 1’s Stuyvesant Cove Park, leads a walk through the streets of Manhattan, educating people about each tree along the way. The edible and medicinal street tree walk will be part of City of Forest Day.


What You Need To Know

  • City of Forest Day is back for its second year on Saturday, Oct. 14 

  • New Yorkers can participate in more than 75 events across all five boroughs 

  • The events help educate residents about the importance of an how to care for the city's urban forest

  • There are more than 7 million trees in New York City

“Foraging is an art and a practice and a lifelong skill if you are interested in doing something we do a lot of work teaching about,” Thompson said.

The walk will be one of more than 75 events across the five boroughs for the second City of Forest Day. It’s a chance to practice stewardship, helping to protect, expand and maintain the urban forest.

There are more than 7 million trees in New York City.

“Many of them are along our public streets, in public parks and smaller forested areas, as well as in people’s backyards and private land,” said Hannah Emple, program analyst for the Nature Conservancy.

City of Forest Day is presented by Forest for All NYC, a coalition of more than 115 member organizations, lead by the global conservation organization, the Nature Conservancy.

NYC Parks and Parks and Open Space Partners NYC are also part of the coalition. They say trees are important for urban areas to clean the air, provide shade and more.

“They provide concrete benefits to make the city more resilient to the effects of climate change that we are now beginning to see more tangibly,” said Sergio Moncada, manager of Forest for All NYC.

Check here for a full schedule of events.