Latest news with #TreeTracker
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Local SUNY campuses receive grants for trees
Gov. Kathy Hochul celebrated Arbor Day on Friday by announcing $15 million in grants through New York state's new Community Reforestation (CoRe) program. 'Resilient urban forests support community health, well-being and sustainability,' Hochul said. 'I'm celebrating Arbor Day 2025 by awarding $15 million in new grants to support projects across the State that will bring the countless ecological and economic benefits of trees to urban areas.' Two of the grants were awarded locally. The Research Foundation for the State of New York received $484,910 for SUNY Oneonta Forest Restoration. SUNY Oneonta will plant more than 9,600 native trees and remove invasive species to enhance carbon sequestration and recreation opportunities on campus, as well as host student internships and service-learning opportunities, the release stated. The Research Foundation for the State of New York also received $423,092 for SUNY Cobleskill Forest Restoration. SUNY Cobleskill will create natural areas on campus by planting more than 5,300 trees across five acres of abandoned agricultural land, providing hands-on educational experiences for students, according to the release. All CoRe-funded projects will record tree planting input into DEC's Tree Tracker, a GIS tool available for the public to upload every tree planted in New York state. Every New Yorker who uploads a tree planting to the Tree Tracker in April and May will be automatically entered in a sweepstakes for a chance to win a year-long subscription to The Conservationist magazine and 25 Million Trees merchandise, according to the release. DEC is awarding more than $7.4 million to municipalities, particularly to restore woodlands in public parks. "Invasive species removal and expansion of native forests in these open spaces intends to enhance the ecosystem services provided to local residents, particularly enhanced canopy that provides shade and recreational opportunities," the release stated. A total of $5.3 million is awarded to not-for-profit organizations for a variety of volunteer-driven projects focused on promoting forest health at the ecosystem-level, from riparian zone enhancement along the Upper Susquehanna watershed to protecting Bronx River ecological health, the release stated.
Forbes
29-03-2025
- Climate
- Forbes
A Look At New York's Ambitious Goal To Plant 25 Million Trees
Apple trees ready to be planted. New York has a new interactive web tool to track the state's progress in an ambitious goal by Gov. Kathy Hochul to have people plant 25 million trees within a nine-year period. The new online 'Tree Tracker' enables state residents to self-identify as a private landowner, group members, paid professional, municipality worker or state agency employee and input information about their tree planting. 'New York is taking decisive action to protect our environment and strengthen communities' ability to withstand severe weather,' Hochul noted in statement unveiling the online tool last month. 'Our progress toward the 25 Million Tree goal is a testament to the power of community-driven action, and the new Tree Tracker will make it easier for New Yorkers to track our progress, share updates and contribute to a healthier environment for the future.' In April 2024, Hochul awarded $2.4 million in forestry grants to 32 urban projects. At that time she announced in a press statement that the money would improve air quality and bring more greenery to cityscapes. At that time, NY's State Parks Commissioner Pro Tempore Randy Simons stated, 'Trees and forests support our parks and our environment by helping clean air and water, providing wildlife habitat, fighting climate change and sometimes just offering a place to relax in the shade. I encourage New Yorkers to get involved and get their hands dirty by planting a tree in their own communities.' The Tree Tracker shows 348 trees had been planted in the state from the first of this year through March 28. The online metrics for last year indicate not many New Yorkers planted enough trees to achieve the 25-million goal. Figures for 2024 indicated 153,044 trees were planted most in the Southern Tier, followed by the North Country, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, the Hudson Valley, Western New York and Central New York. Last year, Smithville in Chenango County came in No. 1 by planting the most trees (41,000), followed by 24,000 trees planted in Franklin in Delaware County. The two areas with the least enthusiasm for tree planting last year were Long Island (where just under 670 were planted) and New York City (with only 37 new trees recorded). No matter these metrics, New York officials remain hopeful about the project. 'Every tree planted is a step toward a healthier, greener New York. The Tree Tracker will empower New Yorkers to share their stories with us as our partners in this historic effort, which will have a lasting impact on the environment,' noted Sean Mahar, interim commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Also applauding state's goal for new trees and the online tracker was Bill Ulfelder, N.Y. executive director of The Nature Conservancy: 'Achieving this goal would help New York meet its carbon reduction goals while protecting clean drinking water, restoring wildlife habitat, and reducing the risks of extreme heatwaves, which can be fatal in neighborhoods without trees.' The governor unveiled her '25 Million Trees by 2033' program last year as a natural solution to improve the environment for people and address the loss of habitat for wildlife while maintain existing forests and creating new ones. Of the state's 30.2 million total acres, 62% (18.6 million acres) is covered by forests, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation. New York is estimated to have over 100 different types of trees, with the most common kinds being birch, maple and beech trees that account for over half of all forest trees.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
See where trees are being planted in NY with new statewide Tree Tracker tool
Have you ever wanted to see where trees are being planted throughout New York state? Now, you can! And if you plant any yourself, there's a way for you to add them to the new interactive tree tracking tool created by the state. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the tracker Wednesday as a way to monitor the goal set in her 2024 State of the State address of planting 25 million trees statewide by 2033. "New York is taking decisive action to protect our environment and strengthen communities' ability to withstand severe weather," Hochul said. "Our progress toward the 25 Million Tree goal is a testament to the power of community-driven action, and the new Tree Tracker will make it easier for New Yorkers to track our progress, share updates and contribute to a healthier environment for the future." Here's what to know. Created by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of Information Technology Services, the Tree Tracker and resulting webpage includes an interactive map of tree planting projects statewide, which keeps track of the number of trees planted and includes breakdowns by region, county and municipality. State agencies, organizations, private entities and individuals can report the location and number of trees planted into the tool, according to Hochul, and you can also include information such as when the tree was planted, the species of the planted tree and the size of the tree. You can access the tracker's interactive map element by visiting If you'd like to report a tree you've planted, visit and fill out the survey questions. The tracker includes all trees planted in New York since January 2024. Statewide, over 100,000 trees have been planted as of Feb. 6, 2025. Here's how this breaks down by region: Southern Tier: 82,400 trees planted Finger Lakes: 10,300 trees planted Mohawk Valley: 5,800 trees planted Western New York: 3,500 trees planted North Country: 2,900 trees planted Hudson Valley: 1,800 trees planted Capital Region: 1,500 trees planted Central New York: 1,200 trees planted Long Island: 52 trees planted New York City: 16 trees planted Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Livingston and Lewis counties have planted the most trees to date, according to the tracker, with over 90,000 trees planted among them. The towns of Smithville, Franklin, Tompkins, Burlington and York are the localities with the most trees planted in the state, which totals over 81,000 trees. Emily Barnes reports on consumer-related issues for the USA TODAY Network's New York Connect Team, focusing on scam and recall-related topics. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@ This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: See where trees are being planted in NY with new Tree Tracker tool
