On June 17, NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa, NYC Council Member Lincoln Restler, and others participated in the ribbon cutting celebration of a new “mini forest” located on the Williamsburg waterfront. A formerly bare lot was transformed into a lush forest ecosystem.
“The new mini forest that we have planted here in Brooklyn has transformed this lot into a vibrant and unique space for relaxation and reflection, complete with all the trees, shrubs, wildflowers, ferns, and stones that you’d find in a natural forest. This mini forest is the latest step in the green transformation of the Brooklyn waterfront,” said Rodriguez-Rosa.
Effectively installed in a plaza at North 5th Street Pier and Park (near North 4th Street) is a fully-formed forest ecosystem. It is unlike the Miyawaki-style mini forests, which have gained widespread attention as a promising approach to reforestation and biodiversity restoration. Instead of small plants planted closely together and allowed to grow naturally over time, this mini forest contains larger and more mature plantings so New Yorkers won’t have to wait to see the natural ecosystem of the new Brooklyn mini forest develop.
Restler said, “I’m thrilled that we’re bringing the first ever mini forest to Brooklyn! The new mini forest in the Northside of Williamsburg will have an outsized impact on our community by enhancing biodiversity, improving air quality, preventing flooding, and beautifying a rundown, underutilized park space. I’m grateful to NYC Parks for embracing this proposal and making this project happen. I’m excited to replicate this model and build more mini forests around the City of New York.”
NYC Parks is committed to expanding the tree canopy throughout the five boroughs. Street trees cool neighborhoods, beautify city blocks, soften the hard edges of concrete and brick, and so much more. More than 7M trees, comprised of more than 200 species are at home in NYC. Parks marked three straight years of increasing tree planting totals and recently announced a new block-planting strategy that will plant up to 18,000 trees across the city per year, with a focus on heat-vulnerable neighborhoods. As the year’s first heatwave hit NYC June 22–June 25 reaching temperatures over 102°F, there’s a need for using nature to help with the cooling.
Parks invested approximately $197K in the construction of the Brooklyn mini forest. Restler contributed approximately $35K to further support installation and maintenance. Tree species that can be found in the new mini forest include: serviceberry, black gum, river birch, and persimmon. Visitors can also see shrubs, ferns, wildflowers, and grasses like narrow leaved mountain mint, flat-topped goldenrod, sweet fern, aromatic aster, butterfly weed, little bluestem, and hayscented fern.
The Greenline 