More than a dozen volunteers gathered at the Avenue U parking lot at 3244 Avenue U on Saturday morning, January 10th, to participate in the Marine Park Alliance (MPA)’s annual Mulchfest.
After the holidays, residents have the opportunity to dispose of their Christmas trees at the lot. Organized by the MPA and NYC Parks in cooperation with Big Reuse, volunteers inspected for removal of holiday decorations and, once cleaned, sent them to the wood chipper, where they were converted into mulch. Next, volunteers gathered and distributed the mulch to those who wanted to take it with them.
“Mulchfest is our signature event for the wintertime, and people look forward to it every year to get rid of their natural Christmas decorations, their trees, their wreaths and so on,” Eric Peterson, NYC Parks Marine Park Administrator, said. “Whatever people don’t take home, we will use throughout the parks in the city as wood chips, as compost, as mulch — to bring the nutrients back to the soil and protect our tree roots, our horticultural areas from damage.”
More than half of the volunteers were young people, and events like these encourage them to be part of their community.
“The only way to actually raise adults who care about the environment and climate justice is to have young people connect with the environment,” Girl Scout Troop 2165 Leader Bari Katz said. “This is such a beautiful opportunity to see the full life cycle of Christmas trees, what you do with them, how they go back into earth. This is a present moment but also a gift for the future.”
