I was going to save this story for Earth Day (Apr. 22), but shouldn’t every day be Earth Day? Besides, the recent burst of summeriness inspired most trees in the neighborhood to blossom—and if you haven’t noticed, get outside right now! They’re delightful!

Purdy Eaton

A few weeks ago, I sat down at Kaffe 1668 with Purdy Eaton* to learn more about Trees for Tribeca. The group is an offshoot of Friends of Duane Park, founded in 1994 to make Duane Park into the crown jewel it is today. The idea behind Trees for Tribeca is that the more trees we have, the better**—and because Tribeca has so many hollow sidewalks, the trees often need to be in planters. If you’ve ever dealt with city bureaucracy, you can imagine what it must be like to try and get a planter approved. What Trees for Tribeca did was arrange city approvals for certain planters and location parameters—not too close to hydrants or corners—so that getting a tree in front of your building is as easy as 1-2-3. Actually, make that 1-8-0-0…. The cost of a tree and planter and delivery is $1,800; you either have to care for it yourself or you can hire Tribeca Partnership to do it. The trees are cherry or serviceberry (a.k.a. juneberry), and you may also want to factor in seasonal plantings such as daffodils, tulips, or ivy.

A treeless stretch of Warren Street

We’re about to enter planting season, so come on, people, let’s plant some trees! Eaton isn’t above approaching strangers to see if she can motivate them, but she’d certainly prefer it if you reached out to her at trees@duanepark.org. (“I don’t want to be that weird stalking person who pounces on people as they come out of their buildings,” she said.) To see what a difference trees can make, check out Warren Street: The block between West Broadway and Church is lovely; the block between Church and Broadway, which has far fewer trees, is grimmer. And if your building won’t go for it, consider donating a tree, like someone did for the Church Street School.

* Eaton is an artist who volunteers for Trees for Tribeca in her spare time; a show of her work will be at Nancy Hoffman Gallery in Chelsea this summer.

** My partner, who has lived here longer than I have, told me that years ago, when the Trees for Tribeca idea first came up, many Tribecans fought it because trees clashed with the industrial vibe. That horse has long left the barn, and in this case, change has been good. Maybe it’s because I grew up in California, but really, who argues against trees?!