Friends of City Hall Park’s
“Tree Days in CHP”
April 15 - 30
tree art exhibition tree planting walking tours tree care Arbor day Ceremony volunteer events crowd-sourced chalk art forest
Friends of City Hall Park’s “Tree Days in CHP” celebrates and cultivates our park’s fragile, valuable trees and brings attention to the increasing importance of all NYC’s urban forest as we deal with climate change.
Friends of City Hall Park’s
“Tree Days in City Hall Park”
tree art exhibition tree planting tree care walking tours Arbor day Ceremony volunteer gardening & clean ups crowd-sourced sidewalk chalk art forest.
Scroll down for complete “Tree Days” Program with descriptions.
Friends of City Hall Park’s “Tree Days in CHP” celebrates and cultivates our park’s fragile, valuable trees and brings attention to the increasing importance of all NYC’s urban forest as we deal with climate change.
FCHP joins with city-wide advocates on behalf of our trees & parks…
• https://ForestforAll.nyc/nyc-Urban-Forest-agenda/
• https://secure.NY4P.org/a/%201-Percent-for-Parks-petition
Trees offer us shady places to relax, play, gather, and connect with the natural world, while also producing oxygen, filtering out gaseous and particulate air pollution, absorbing ground water, impeding wind, deflecting noise and reducing urban heat. Our groves are habitats for squirrels, pollinators, year-round and migrating birds. The lower Manhattan urban forest remains a center of homeland for the Lenape nation. Trees increase private and public property values. Trees are memories and feelings.
The challenges to our CHP trees and all urban trees are severe weather, air pollution, urban heat island effect, lack of adequate sunlight, development, limited growing space, poor soil, poor irrigation, competition from invasive species, pests, diseases, and vandalism. They need our stewardship.
City Hall Park, linked to stands in lower Manhattan, contains buckeyes, cedars, weeping and flowering cherries, crabapples, dogwoods, elms, gingko trees, hollies, horse chestnuts, lindens, London planes, magnolias, maples, oaks, pines, redbuds, spruces, sweetgums, hawthorns, tupelo, catalpa, juneberries (amelanchier), and a plum tree.
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“Tree Days” Program
April 15 Tuesday
tba TREE PLANTING
Six amelanchier (lelachpattichteak – Lenape) a/k/a juneberry, shadbush, service berry, donated by FCHP, planted in 4 CHP sites with DPR. “Indigenous tree planted to acknowledge its importance to Lenape people in their homeland, here on this land, for thousands of years, and continuing today.” – DPR tree tag. Please see Arbor Day “Named Tree Tour” April 25 5pm.
April 22 Tues, 23 Weds, 26 Sat.
9am – 1pm 2nd FCHP Crowd-Sourced Sidewalk Chalk Art Forest
Draw trees on sides of CHP’s paths… realistic, imaginery, decorative or abstract entire trees or groves, branches or leaves, or write text messages about trees. A crowd-sourced collaborative artwork and public policy issue expression, very likely the world’s largest in history. Non-toxic sidewalk chalk provided at Welcome Tables. All ages and drawing skill levels. School groups can reserve 1-4 15-minute chalking slots.
April 22 Tuesday EARTH DAY
9am - 1pm Cypress Creek Renewables, DearDoc, KC3, KO2, & community volunteers spring gardening
Join Friends of CHP, Cypress Creek Renewables’, DearDoc’s, KO2’s and KC3’s staff volunteer teams for tree care, gardening, & clean up + Sidewalk Chalk Art Forest.
5 – 7pm Opening reception / community gathering
“Celebrating City Hall Park Trees” One Art Space 23 Warren Street
Tree art gallery group exhibition, book talks & craft activities. April 22 Tuesday – April 27 Sunday noon – 8pm. For activities schedule & info: KarlssonGail@gmail.com
Gail Karlsson – curator, photo prints from new book Meeting Trees in City Hall Park
Barbara Dahl – drawings of leaves from new book Trees of City Hall Park
Joe Baker – Lenapehoking Stump pen & ink drawing
Albert Zylyftari – CHP canopy watercolor by CHP street artist
Skip Blumberg – CHP canopy photographs
George Vellonakis – signed CHP architectural design print
Adele Rahte – trees collage
Mary Zehngutt – artwork inspired by new research in tree communication
William Zehngutt – urban parks trees oil paintings
Joan Farrenkopf – artistic tribute to ginko trees
Bradley Tryon – oil, pastel & acrylic painting of a spirited tree
April 23 Wednesday
9am – 1pm Mediaocean & community volunteers spring gardening
Join Mediaocean’s volunteer team and Friends of CHP for planting 28 bushes! that Mediaocean donated, spring gardening, & clean up + Sidewalk Chalk Art Forest.
April 25 Friday ARBOR DAY
8am Squirrel Walk & Talk
Join squirrel expert, Ron Sosenko, “The Squirrel Whistler,” for an informational talk about these wild residents, their habits, their habitat, and an opportunity to get to know Ron’s bushy-tailed friends one-on-one (with close-up photo opportunities). Whether you think squirrels are loveable reminders of the natural world or another urban pest, CHP has been the habitat for the small indigenous mammals since before first human habitation of this forest. We all dwell in the squirrels’ home turf. It’s in our interest to get to know the critters.
10 am Introduction to Trees & Birds in CHP
Friend of CHP, nature writer, photographer, & bird watcher Gail Karlsson leads an Arbor Day walk through City Hall Park to point out important trees (and their identifying spring characteristics) featured in her new book Meeting Trees in City Hall Park, while looking out for resident robins and crows, as well as migrating birds heading north for spring breeding. Bring your binoculars or long-lens camera.
Noon Ranger’s Tree ID Tour
Parks Department Urban Park Ranger leads an edifying one-hour spring-time lunch-time walk through our local forest surrounding City Hall, identifying species and estimating ages.
2pm This Land according to Lenape
Walk with Lenape Center guides Joe Baker, Executive Director/Co-founder, and Hadrien Coumans, Deputy Director/Co-founder, who point out nearby forest, terrain & wildlife habitat features, practical uses of & deeper relationships with trees, and spiritual aspects of our precious land. Before 1625, a Lenape village occupied near to City Hall Park, within the Lenapehoking region from the Hudson Valley to Chesapeake Bay. The original forest was used in harmony by the first people for thousands of years, before European brutal colonization and forced relocation of all Lenapes. This land and all Lenapehoking actively remain Lenape nation’s homeland.
4pm CHP Arbor Day Ceremony – Celebrating City Hall Park Trees!
Focussing on positive action to steward CHP’s fragile, valuable trees and all NYC’s urban forest as we deal with climate change.
Welcome and remarks Joe Baker Executive, Director/Cofounder Lenape Center, Co-editor/writer Lenape: An Anthology
Arbor Day Civic Ceremony Confirmed speakers: Councilmember Shekar Krishnan (Parks Committee Chair), District One Councilmember Chris Marte, Parks Dept Manhattan Commissioner Tricia Shimamura.
5pm Named Trees Walk
Identifying the named trees in and near City Hall Park:
1-4. Four sites with six “lelachpattichteak” (Lenape) indigenous amelanchier (a/k/a shadbush, juneberry, service berry) trees, planted by DPR and volunteers, donated by FCHP, “to acknowledge its importance to Lenape people” Tag installation, Arbor Day 2025.
4. “The Freedom Tree” - new tree? “with the vision of universal freedom” 1973.
6. “Canadian Burr Oak” “Gift of Canada to New York City” on Arbor Day 1967. Recent recipient of prestigious DPR “Great Tree” designation! Arbor Day 2025.
7. Largest (oldest?) veteran tree in CHP! (photo left). Please suggest a name!
April 26 Saturday “It’s My Park”
9am – 1pm FCHP & CHPC’s It’s My Park Day
Annual Partnership for Parks-sponsored spring green-up, celebrating belated Earth Day. Collaborating with City Hall Park Conservancy, including Sidewalk Chalk Art Forest, flower planting, kids’ activities, music, as well as cleanup throughout CHP. More: info@chpc-nyc.org
10am Tree Care Workshop - basic cultivation, irrigation and mulching techniques, promoting tree health. Cultivate our trees as long as you want until tool cleaning before 1pm.
April 29 Tuesday
9am - 1pm Adore Me, Kyndryl's Social Impact Team, and Divergent Teambuilders & community volunteers spring gardening
Join Adore Me’s community service team, Kyndryl's Social Impact Team, Divergent Teambuilders and Friends of CHP for tree care, weeding, mulching & clean up + Sidewalk Chalk Art Forest.
April 30 Wednesday
9am – 1pm Community volunteer spring gardening
Sponsored by City Parks Foundation & FCHP. Join corporate volunteer community service team and Friends of CHP for tree care, weeding, mulching & clean up + Sidewalk Chalk Art Forest.