GWQ Summary + Road Map

“to be without trees would, in the most literal way, to be without our roots.”
— richard mabey, beechcombings: the narratives of trees

The Greening Western
Queens Community
Forestry Project (GWQ)
is an urban reforestation and
community stewardship initiative in the
neighborhoods of Astoria, Long Island City,
Sunnyside and Woodside.
From 2011-2014, the program was a
project of City Parks Foundation through
the Partnerships for Parks program, in
collaboration with NYC Parks, Trees New
York, and New York Restoration Project,
and was supported by the Greening
Western Queens Fund of North Star Fund.
Funding for the project
originated from a
settlement between
a citizen action group
called Western Queens
Power for the People
and Con Edison for
damages incurred
during a 10-day power
outage in the summer of 2006.
Report prepared by :
1.

The project area as delineated by the settlement agreement between Con Edison and Western Queens Power for the People in 2009.
project area: as delineated by
the settlement agreement
2.

To connect community groups to local resources, Partnerships
for Parks collaborated with the Global Kids Environmental
Awareness program at William C. Bryant High School.
To build awareness of the program, Partnerships for Parks
engaged Western Queens residents in mapping street tree
requests for their neighborhoods at local
community events.
Partnerships for Parks and Trees NY cared for trees and
planted bulbs at the annual Sunnyside Shines Clean Up Event
to help build awareness around the importance of trees in
the urban environment.
3.
The four year grant funded program was based on the Partnerships for Parks Catalyst Model of community engagement which
Builds community participation and pride; Connects people, ideas, and efforts in order to develop shared goals, and Sustains
local leadership and green space stewardship.
New York Restoration Project planted 528 trees on publicly
accessible private land throughout the project area.
Trees NY provided tree care training workshops and advanced
Citizen Pruning courses which helped citizens engage in caring
for the newly planted trees in the project area.
NYC Parks Forestry planted 600 street trees and installed 400
custom designed tree guards throughout the project area.

BUILD: Community Participation & Pride
• Engage local community members in deciding where to plant the new street trees.
• Raise and build awareness about the benefits of trees in the urban environment.
• Prioritize street tree planting based on community input and investment in
providing sustained care for the newly planted trees.
• Provide the community with tree care tools, event organizing support, and financial
resources to build and strengthen their capacity to care for the new trees.
CONNECT: People, Ideas, and Efforts in order to develop shared goals
• Train and connect a diverse group of community stewards through ongoing tree
care workshops and volunteer tree care events.
• Connect community stewards and stakeholders to each other through organized
community gatherings in order for them to share best practices, identify common
goals, and exchange resources, knowledge and ideas.
SUSTAIN: Local Leadership and Green Space Stewardship
• Develop a framework, with input from community stakeholders, for the
formation of a long-term tree stewardship program that will sustain and further
neighborhood greening efforts beyond 2014.
• Provide resources, planning tools, and examples of existing urban forestry
program models to guide the stewards as they explore forming a sustained tree
stewardship entity.
• Facilitate the development of a network of local stewards in Western Queens
who collaborate on greening projects.
The Goals for the
Community Forestry
Project are drawn from
the Partnerships for
Parks Catalyst Model.
Catalyst is an organizing model
for building long-term community
engagement around green spaces.
The priority of this project was to
organize and coordinate an active,
well-trained, and well-connected
network of community stewards
committed to caring for the Western
Queens urban environment through
their engagement with the new
street trees.
The project programming was based on
the premise that people need trees, and
trees need people.
The ultimate goal for the project was to
facilitate the formation of a community
stewardship group with shared vision
and goals for advancing greening
efforts in their neighborhoods for many
generations to come.
4.

5.
2
The Goals of the Project
Aligned Well With the
Urban Forestry Goals of
New York State and New
York City.
Community tree care stewards were
provided with an overview of the USDA
Forest Service’s latest research on the
urban tree canopy in New York City,
so that they could have a frame of
reference for how their community
forest fits within the larger context of
New York City and State urban forestry
programs and goals.
Understanding the state and city
goals is especially relevant as the
community forestry stewards evolve
into an advocacy group that will
work long-term with the NYC Parks
Forestry Department to care for and
monitor existing trees and request new
plantings in their neighborhoods.
Partnerships for Parks has provided the
stewards with links to all of the state
and city urban forestry web sites as well
as the sites of other citizen-led urban
forestry initiatives in the U.S.
Partnerships for Parks has provided stewards with links to the NY State Urban Forestry
Council so they can stay align their goals with those of the state as they explore forming
a tree advocacy group in Western Queens.
The New York State Forestry
Action Plan is one of the
resources Partnerships for
Parks has provided to the GWQ
Community Forest stewards.
STATE:
Partnerships for Parks has connected key GWQ
Community Forestry Project stewards with the NYC
Parks TreeLC Program for ongoing support of their tree
care activities in the years ahead.
CITY:
• Engage & educate communities on the importance of urban forestry &
green infrastructure.
• Encourage networking and formation of community tree boards.
• Develop a statewide database of community tree inventories.
• Incorporate green infrastructure into urban communities.
A FEW OF NEW YORK’S URBAN AND COMMUNITY FORESTRY PROGRAM GOALS:

As of 2014, 81 citizen pruners, who live and work in Western Queens, have earned official certification from Trees New York.
Over 300 citizens participated in 22 free tree care training workshops, and are now certified tree care stewards. Nine
active tree stewardship groups have mobilized to care for new and existing trees in the project area. Ten key stewards have
become Tree Care Captains in the NYC Parks TreeLC program, which will provide them with ongoing tree care support in the
years ahead.
School groups participated in volunteer tree care days. Tree Care Stewards Certified by Trees NY during one of many tree care workshops in the project area.
6

Over 2,000 citizens have participated in over 120 volunteer tree stewardship events organized by the Greening Western Queens
Community Forestry Project partners, and many more through the ongoing activities led by the nine community tree care and
greening groups that have formed as a result of the new trees.
7.
A tree care, bulb planting, and tree guard building event
led by Friends of Astoria Heights Playground.
Stewards from the Queens Botanical Garden Master
Composter program helped care for newly planted GWQ
street trees with the 38th St. Stewards.
Members of the Woodside Neighborhood
Association planting native perennials in tree beds on a
busy sidewalk on 39th Avenue.
The Astoria Green Gardeners Association has cleaned
up and planted a traffic median near an entrance to the
BQE that was neglected since the 70’s.
The Astoria Park Gateway group hosted a perennial
planting workshop on Hoyt Avenue N. in Astoria.
The 27th Street Block Association led a DIY tree guard
project in 2012.

2
Key community stewards and local stakeholders from across the project area met and planned program priorities at
a series of 9 visioning and work planning sessions that were organized and facilitated by Partnerships for Parks. The
meetings, along with numerous informal social and networking gatherings, helped everyone connect with one another, build vital
relationships, and sustain citizen involvement in the program planning.
8.
LaGuardia Community College. Long Island City Sunnyside Community Services. Sunnyside Bohemian Hall Cultural Center. Astoria
Stewards placed wishes on a wish tree at the June 2014
Visioning and Work Planning Meeting.
Stewards from across the project area presented their
neighborhood projects to one another.
Key stewards established 2014 priorities during two town
hall style meetings in Woodside and Astoria.

9
2
GWQ community
stewards received
the TD Bank Urban
Forestry Award two
years in a row.
Partnerships for Parks hosts an
annual Volunteer Recognition
event at which green space
stewards from around the city
are recognized for their volunteer
work. The event host, TD Bank
presents an Urban Forestry award
each year, and in 2013 and 2014,
Greening Western Queens
community stewards were
recognized for their urban tree
care efforts.
The exemplary work of the
GWQ community stewards
has also inspired a year-long
research study on community
resilience and stewardship,
which will be published in early
2015, as part of the doctoral
dissertation of a New School
student in the Public and Urban
Policy Program.
Members of the Woodside Neighborhood Association received
the TD Bank Urban Forestry award in 2013 at the Partnerships for
Parks Annual Stewardship Conference.
Members of the Astoria 5 Network (with the GWQ Community
Outreach team) received the 2014 TD Bank Urban Forestry award
at the Partnerships for Parks Volunteer Recognition Ceremony.
Astoria 5 stewards with NYC Parks Commissioner, Mitchell Silver
and City Parks Foundation Executive Director, Heather Lubov (back
row center), and Partnerships for Parks Director, Sabina Saragoussi
(far left back row), at the 2014 Partnerships for Parks Volunteer
Recognition Ceremony.
Astoria Green Gardeners President with NYC Parks Commissioner
Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP at the 2014 Partnerships for Parks Volunteer
Recognition Ceremony.

1,128 New Trees Were
Planted in the Project
Area from 2012-2014.
NYC Parks Forestry planted 600 street
trees on sidewalks, and New York
Restoration Project planted 528 trees
on publicly accessible private land
(churches, schools, public housing
sites, cemeteries, and parks).
NYC Parks Forestry installed 400
custom made tree guards to protect
the young street trees. The tree
guards raised the profile of the project
significantly in the areas where they
were installed.
Citizens across the project area
care for the trees. The trees were
planted in areas where community
members requested them, and
agreed to take care of them.
Active stewardship hubs evolved
around the newly planted trees each
year. The stewardship hubs generated
hundreds of greening activities around
the project area.
10.
The street tree
plantings are
depicted as dots.
Trees on publicly
accessible private
land are depicted
as color blocks.
St. Michaels Cemetery
Astoria Park
Woodside Houses
William C. Bryant
High School
Sunnyside Garden Apts.
Steinway & Sons Bioswale
Garden Bay Manor, Barclay Gardens,
Alfred Zimberg Elementary

Nine Active Tree Care
and Stewardship Hubs
formed in response to
the new street trees.
Each hub conducts multiple tree
care and greening activities in their
neighborhoods every year. Five tree
stewardship groups formed a connected
network called Astoria 5.
All 9 of the hubs received sustained,
stewardship support from the dedicated
team of GWQ Community Forestry
Project partners in order to help
them build their capacity to lead and
implement community greening and
tree care activities on their own.
In addition to support in the field,
several key GWQ Community Forestry
Project stewards participated in
the nine-month, Partnerships
Academy Fellowship program led
by Partnerships for Parks. The
Fellowship provides green space
stewards with advanced leadership
development skills, peer-to-peer project
planning support, and one on one
mentoring and coaching.
11.Map of the active stewardship groups.
Astoria 5
Network

The Astoria 5 Network is a Coalition of
5 Community Groups Who Connected
Through the Community Forestry Project.
They are: 27th Street Block Association, Astoria Park Gateway, 38th
Street Stewards, Astoria Green Gardeners Association, and Friends
of Astoria Heights Playground.
In 2014, the five groups organized 12 street tree stewardship
events drawing a total of 315 volunteers.
The network cares for 132 street trees and has planted 2,450 bulbs
in their project area. Within the network, there are 8 certified
citizen pruners, 2 Partnerships Academy Fellows and 5 grant
recipients.
63 GWQ tree guards were installed on the blocks cared for by the
network, which was determined by stewardship commitment in
2013 and 2014. Three members of the Astoria 5 Coalition attended Community Board 1 cabinet meeting
to introduce themselves and connect with key civic organizations in their district.
Members of Astoria 5 receiving their 2014 TD Bank Urban Forestry Award at the
Partnerships for Parks Volunteer Recognition Event.
12.
The Astoria 5 Coalition presented the Partnerships for Parks GWQ Project outreach team with a
certificate of appreciation in 2014.

The 27th Street Block Association
requested new street trees through the Greening Western
Queens Community Forestry Project in 2011, and is caring for
22 new trees in their neighborhood.
27th Street, near the Con Edison Plant in Astoria, a block that
originally had street trees 50 years ago, is the site of the GWQ
Community Forestry Project’s first tree in the ground.
The group has produced a community building messaging
effort through signs on the newly installed GWQ Community
Forestry Project tree guards.
The 27th Street Block Association has connected with local city
council member Costa Constantinides, and members of the
group have recently joined the Parks & Environment committee
for the participatory budgeting process in their district. Planting the first tree, a honey locust, on
27th St. Con Ed plant in the background.
Residents of the same 27th Street block in
1950 with Con Ed plant in the background.
PhotocourtesyofNancyPerezRodrigues,2013 13.First Tree in The Ground Ceremony on 27th Street in November 2011. Tree guard signs with community building messages and the names of the families who
have adopted and care for the new trees.

3 neighbors working together on Hoyt Avenue North at the Planting With a
Purpose Workshop.
Astoria Park Gateway with council member Costas Constantinedes on Hoyt Avenue. Astoria Park Gateway organized a large volunteer clean up on Hoyt Avenue North.
The Astoria Park Gateway Group
cares for 19 new street trees on Hoyt Avenue North, and
envisions a beautiful archway of trees creating a shaded green
canopy over the sidewalks that lead to nearby Astoria Park.
The group has organized and hosted several neighborhood
priority working group planning meetings, as well as tree care,
clean up, and perennial planting activities in collaboration with
Partnerships for Parks, Trees NY, and local civic organizations.
The group leaders have garnered the support of council
member Costa Costantinedes who attended several of their
events in 2014.
Key members of the group are currently serving on the Parks
and Environment committee of the participatory budget
program for their district.
14.

The 38th Street Stewards
care for 16 trees on 38th street in Astoria. The group’s leader
requested new trees for his block in 2011 and has monitored
and cared for them since they were planted in 2012.
The 38th St. Stewards have worked with the Green Guerilla’s
Green Tillers summer internship program, and members of the
Queens Botanical Garden Master Composter program to help
care for the trees on 38th Street.
As a member of the Astoria 5 network of community stewards,
the 38th St. Ggroup leader has supported other groups in the
network, helped establish the Astoria 5 goals and mission, and
plans to continue monitoring and caring for trees in the project
area, and new street trees.
The president of the group has attended local community
meetings to introduce the Astoria 5 Network to the community
board, and has been invited to join the board of the local B.I.D.
in his district.
The President of the 38th St. Stewards worked with the Green Guerillas’ Green
Tillers Summer Interns in 2013.
Local volunteers and a Queens Botanical Garden Master Composter students working
together to care for new and existing trees in the 38th St. area of operations.
The 38th St. stewards leader joined the Fall 2014 Astoria Park Gateway
neighborhood clean up event on Hoyt Avenue North.
15.

Astoria Green Gardeners Association
cares for a city-owned property near an entrance to the
Brooklyn Queens Expressway. The group has planted trees,
shrubs, and perennials on the site with the advice of the
GWQ Project Community Forester from NYC Parks in order to
beautify the space and help create a sound barrier to block
traffic noise in their neighborhood.
The Astoria Green Gardeners Association plans to petition for
the space to become an official park that will ideally be cared
for by the Parks Department.
With the support of the Partnerships for Parks community
outreach coordinator in the Queens Borough office of NYC
Parks, the group will continue their care of the green space
while working with local officials to gain the parks designation.
The group has connected with local council member Costa
Costantinedes through the participatory budgeting process.
The Astoria Green Gardeners Association president serves
on a Parks and Environment participatory budget planning
committee for her district.
The group planting their first tree purchased with grant money from a Love Your
Block grant they obtained in the winter of 2014.
Before they could plant the group had a monumental clean up job to do! Astoria Green Gardners organized clean up and planting efforts throughout 2014. 16.

Friends of Astoria Heights Playground
The Friends of Astoria Heights Playground (FOAHP) group
cares for the 20+ trees that surround the playground, and
leads a robust program of events year-round.
The group addresses cleanliness and safety issues at the
playground. Their playground was recently designated a
Community Parks Initiative Priority Site, which means it is
slated for renovation and capital improvements over the next
few years. The group will take an active role in the visioning
process as the Parks Department develops the new design for
the playground.
The Friends of Astoria Heights Park have organized several tree
care events and tree guard building sessions at the playground
and has a full program of tree care activities scheduled for
spring, summer and fall 2015.
FOAH partners with Bronx Science and other high school green clubs.
The group obtained a grant from Partnerships for parks to support a tree guard
building workshop in the fall of 2014.
The group plans to expand their tree care programs in 2015. 17.

The Woodside Neighborhood
Association cares for over 200
street trees in the GWQ Community
Forestry Program.
Their area of operations encompasses the entire Woodside
zip code 11377, and includes 5 reclaimed local green
spaces, various public plazas, and any surface area with
graffiti marking.
Their partnership network is both local and citywide. They
work with local schools like PS 11, Saint Sebastian Catholic
School, local churches and mosques including Mormon
missionaries, and city-wide partners like NYC Parks Central
Forestry, Partnerships for Parks, NYC Sanitation, Trees New
York, New York Restoration Project and the Queens Library.
Woodside Neighborhood Association with weekend volunteers before one of the GWQ
perennial planting activities.
2 Key members of the Woodside Neighborhood Association with the Partnerships for Parks
Community Outreach Coordinator (center) for the GWQ Project. 18.
Neighborhood volunteers who worked with the Woodside Neighborhood Association to plant
perennials in 39 tree beds in one day on 39th Avenue!

Biodiversity Buries Carbon tree care and greening day in Long Island City.
Three new stewardship hubs formed
in 2014.
Sunnyside Is Blooming is a grass roots organization devoted
to the care of new and existing street trees in Sunnyside,
Queens. The group held 2 well attended tree care events in
2014 on 43rd Street in Sunnyside.
Biodiversity Buries Carbon is an experiment-oriented
stewardship project led by a LaGuardia Community College
teacher of adult immigrants. They take care of street trees on
their campus in Long Island City.
Re-Create QNS works with local arts organizations in
Sunnyside to provide after-school arts and stewardship
programs. In order to build awareness of their programs in
2014, they planted two perennial gardens, with the help of the
GWQ project team, in front of a building they hope to rent.
Volunteers at a Sunnyside is Blooming tree care event.Volunteers getting ready to plant a perennial garden at a Re-Create Queens Love Your Block
grant funded event in Sunnyside.
19.

Partners
}
North Star Fund
City Parks Foundation
Partnerships for Parks
NYC Parks/Forestry
Trees New York
NY Restoration Project
Build It Green!/NYC Compost
Bohemian Hall Cultural Center
Global Kids Program
Boys & Girls Club Sunnyside
Sunnyside Shines B.I.D.
GreenShores NYC
Astoria Park Alliance
Sunnyside Community Services
Queens Botanical Garden
Local Schools/Churches
{
}
Program Resources
{
Citizen Pruner Training
Tree Care Training Workshops
Partnerships Academy Fellowship
Mini-Grants
Community Group Training
GWQ 2015 Seed Fund
Tree Care Tools
Tree Guard Repair Kit
Hydrant Permits/Hoses/Adapters
Tree Care Captain Status/NYC Parks
Digital Map of Existing Trees
Planting Locations Map
Community Forestry Project Snapshot
4 Neighborhoods { Astoria • Woodside • Sunnyside • Long Island City }
TreesPeople
{9 Active Volunteer Groups
39 Local Partners
81 Citizen Pruners
361 Certified Tree Care Stewards
}
1128 New Trees
1Bioswale
2800 Perennials
5 Gardens
400 GWQ Tree Guards

Before the new trees
were planted, 477
blocks were inspected
and mapped by local
residents and civic
organizations.
Partnerships for Parks and NYC Parks
Forestry worked with a digital tree
mapping organization, TreeKIT, to
develop an accurate and up-to-date,
digital map of the existing tree canopy
in the project area.
Partnerships for Parks and NYC Parks
Forestry organized 27 mapping
sessions with over 54 volunteers.
Local citizens learned how to identify
tree species, assess tree health,
determine the size and age of the trees
and gained an understanding of the
difficult conditions in which urban street
trees live.
An inventory of every existing tree
was documented along with potential
locations for new trees to be planted.
NYC Parks and New York Restoration
Project used the inventory data to make
informed decisions for the GWQ tree
planting program.
20.
Screen grab of digital inventory map. Visit TreeKIT.org/map to zoom in on the block level,
tree inventory details. Use your cursor to move up to the Queens section of the map.

As the project lead,
connected thousands
of citizens with the
GWQ Community
Forestry project.
Partnerships for Parks organized and
catalyzed community engagement
and built stewardship capacity by:
• organizing citizen 27 citizen mapping
sessions • facilitating community 9
visioning and work planning sessions
• providing logistics support and tree
care tools for 100s of tree care events
• connecting local stewards with school
programs • hosting informal social and
networking events • providing leadership
training through their Partnerships
Academy Fellowship • helping citizens
apply for grants through their Capacity
Fund program • and facilitating strategic
planning for a sustained tree care
program beyond 2014.
Partnerships for Parks also developed
a graphic identity for the program
with input from local citizens, and
provided them with promotional
fliers for their neighborhood tree
care events from 2012-2014.
Tree care tools, watering cans, trash bags, t-shirts, kneeling
pads, mulch,compost, gloves, brooms, hydrant keys and
permits were provided for over 120 tree care events.
Partnerships for Parks attended community events and
engaged local citizens in requesting and mapping locations for
street tree plantings in their neighborhoods.
Partnerships for Parks organized youth engagement programs
through school greening programs, summer internship
programs, local boys and girls clubs and with local boy and
girl scout programs throughout the project area.
The Greening Western Queens Community Forestry Project
Event Flier with the GWQ graphic identity.
21.

Trees New York led 22
free tree care training
workshops in the GWQ
Community Forestry
project area from
2012-2013.
Over 300 citizens became certified
tree care stewards. Trees New York
also certified 81 Citizen Pruners
who live and work in the project area.
Through the grant from North Star
Fund, Trees New York was able to
offer scholarships for anyone who
lived or worked in the project area,
making the course, which normally
costs $100, available for $10.00.
Trees New York worked with local
schools and civic groups to help
care for the newly planted trees
and to prune existing trees in the
project area through the Citizen
Pruner courses.
In the summer of 2014, Trees New
York obtained funding to support a
paid summer internship for high
school students. The students helped
care for trees in the GWQ project area.
Trees New York led 22 tree care workshops in the project area
as a way to connect local residents with the newly planted
GWQ street trees.
Trees New York staff participated in volunteer tree care events
across the project area.
A Trees New York Tree Care Training Workshop in Woodside,
organized in collaboration with the Kalusugan Coalition.
The Trees New York Young Urban Foresters Summer
Internship program employed young New Yorkers in the
summer of 2014.
22.

NYC Parks Forestry
planted 600 street
trees and installed 400
custom-designed GWQ
tree guards.
The Forestry Department provided
GIS mapping of all the tree planting
locations throughout the project area,
and coordinated the planting of 600
new street trees on sidewalks and
the production and installation of 400
custom-designed tree guards.
The Dedicated Community Forester
worked closely with local citizens
to coordinate the street plantings
and tree guard installations in their
neighborhoods and to encourage
best practices for urban street tree
stewardship.
NYC Parks Forestry selected street
tree species for ecological biodiversity,
tree structure, beauty, and growth
habits at maturity.
NYC Parks made all of the key GWQ
stewards Tree Care Captains in
their ongoing TreeLC program which
supports community tree stewardship.
NYC Parks provided mulch from a local Park to help stewards
mulch their street tree beds.
The NYC Parks Community Forester worked in the field with
local tree stewards during their neighborhood volunteer tree
care events.
NYC Parks provided an overview of the street tree program in
New York City and for the borough of Queens.
NYC Parks installed 400 custom Greening Western Queens
tree guards in the project area, provided tree guard repair kits
to key stewards and led a tree guard repair workshop in 2014.
23.

NYRP demonstrated tree care best practices during tree
planting events with local citizens throughout the project area.
NYRP planted over 98 trees at the Woodside houses site with
100’s of volunteers in the spring of 2014.
NYRP staff led gardening activities with local schools such as
this butterfly garden project in the central courtyard at William
C. Bryant High School in Astoria.
The 350 square foot bioswale at the Steinway & Sons
Piano factory is planted with over 1000 native perennials.
New York Restoration
Project (NYRP)Planted
528 Trees on Publicly
Accessible Private Land
Throughout the Project
Area.
New York Restoration Project planted
trees at schools, cemeteries, parks,
churches, and public housing sites
and engaged local citizens in their
tree planting events throughout the
project area.
Through the Greening Western Queens
Fund, NYRP was able to work with the
Steinway and Sons Piano Factory
in Astoria to install a leading edge
storm water mitigation system and
bioswale in their parking lot. The
system is an exemplary model of green
infrastructure in the urban environment
and consists of 29 GWQ trees and over
1000 native perennials and grasses.
Citizen stewards in Astoria are
interested in working with Steinway
and Sons to organize volunteer
stewardship events to help care for the
trees and bioswale.
24.

2
NYC Parks Forestry
and Partnerships for
Parks led a perennial
planting program in
the spring of 2014.
Through the Planting With A Purpose
program, citizen stewards planted over
1,800 native perennial plants in 120
tree beds across the project area.
The planting program provided
opportunities for stewards from across
the project area to work together at the
Plants With A Purpose Workshop, to
learn new horticultural skills, and to take
pride in the care that the newly planted
beds represented on their blocks.
Citizen monitors are tracking and
recording how the various plant species
are performing and thriving, and if they
are contributing to greater soil integrity in
the tree beds.
The perennials have attracted birds,
butterflies, and other beneficial
pollinators that enhance local ecosystem
health in the project area. NYC Parks
Forestry is tracking the performance
of the tree beds and if they thrive, to
potentially use implement this program
in other tree beds around New York City.
25.
Reviewing the planting plans for the tree beds on Hoyt Ave-
nue North at the Plants with a Purpose Workshop.
All the tree beds in the perennial program have signs
explaining what the program is about and how to get involved
in the watering and monitoring efforts.
Stewards laying out the planting areas during the Plants With
a Purpose Workshop.
A healthy comfrey plant thriving and enriching the soil on
Hoyt Avenue North in Astoria.

co-organized a guided
tour with GWQ Project
Partner, New York
Restoration Project for
the community stewards
in the fall of 2014, to visit the storm-
water mitigation system installed in the
53,000 square foot parking lot of the
Steinway & Sons Piano Factory.
The system consists of 29 GWQ
Community Forestry Project trees and
a 350 square foot bioswale filled with
over 1000 native perennial plants.
The project was initiated and installed
by New York Restoration Project
(NYRP), through the Greening Western
Queens Community Forestry Project in
Fall 2013.
The system captures, stores, and filters
approximately 400,000 gallons of
rainwater annually.
Greening Western Queens Community
Forestry Project stewards are on
the forefront of citizen groups who
understand the importance of planting
and caring for vital green infrastructure
in the urban environment.
Stewards exploring the bioswale that runs the length of the
53,000 square ft. parking lot.
Stewards on the tour learned about the various functions
of the bioswale structure and perennial plantings.
26.

2
In October 2014, Partnerships for Parks
Organized and Facilitated a Strategic
Planning and Visioning Session.
Key stewards came together to discuss the possibility of forming
a coalition whose mission would be to sustain the ongoing care
and advocacy for their community forest.
Draft mission statements were written, examples of group
structure were explored, a strategic planning session was
modeled so that stewards can use the same process on their
own in the future.
At the end of the session everyone voted in order to come to a
consensus on their goals and actions for 2015.
One of their goals for 2015 and beyond, is to get more trees
planted in their neighborhoods, and another is to work
together as a network in order to advocate and care for new
and existing trees in the project area.
27.
Stewards worked together in groups to establish elements of an action plan for sustained street
tree care for the project area in 2015 and beyond.
Teammates discussing the best organizational structure for their tree care advocacy group
in the years ahead.
Reviewing a mind map of the GWQ Community Forestry Program assets.

Partnerships for Parks facilitated a visioning activity in June which would inform
the October Strategic Planning session. Stewards worked together on planning
mandalas to establish priorities and action steps that would inform their 2015
planning sessions.
Envisioning a Sustained, Community-Led Tree Stewardship Initiative in Western Queens
28.
At the October Strategic Planning and Visioning Session, stewards worked together
to discuss what success would look like in 2015.
Stay connected as a network
Form a Coalition
3. Set goals with measurable results
At the Fall 2014 Visioning Session, stewards explored various types of group
structure before settling on a coalition.
PREPARING THE ROAD MAP FOR 2015 AND BEYOND
SEED FUND CONSENSUS
1.
2.
3.
4.
Plant more trees & make sure
they get tree guards
Get the active hub leaders together
Appoint an information officer to facilitate
network-wide communication
Clarify Our Vision
PROPOSED GROUP STRUCTURE:
PROPOSED ACTIVITIES
1.
2.
3.
2.
3.
1.
Write Your Suggested Organizational Structure Here
Write Your Suggested Activity Here
Form a Coalition
At the Fall 2014 Visioning Session, stewards voted to get a consensus on how best
to utilize seed fund monies that were set aside for them to use in 2015.

29.
2
Members of The Woodside
Neighborhood Association & The
Astoria 5 Network Connected in
December 2014.
The stewards shared their challenges and project histories
with one another and explored the Woodside Neighborhood
Association cleaning and greening sites together.
This connection between the Northern and southern
zones of the project area was a step forward for the
community stewards in their efforts to form a project-wide
network of tree care and greening stewards who will work
together in the years ahead.
Members of Build It Green/NYC Compost, Friends of Astoria Heights Playground and the
Astoria Park Gateway, & visited the Woodside Neighborhood Association project area to learn
more about their stewardship program.
The President of the Woodside Neighborhood Association led a tour of the gardens, trees,
public plazas and overpasses the group stewards in Woodside.
Visiting the site of a new tree grove recently planted with trees from a New York
Restoration Project tree giveaway.

30.
2
Partnerships for Parks hosted a
program wrap-up celebration in
December 2014.
Community stewards and local project stakeholders gathered
to celebrate the accomplishments of the program with the
Greening Western Queens Community Forestry Project Partners:
NYC Parks Forestry, New York Restoration Project, Trees New
York, Partnerships for Parks, and City Parks Foundation.
Four members of the Western Queens Power for the People
(WQPFP) citizen action group joined the celebration, and
were presented with a certificate of appreciation by the GWQ
Community stewards. Alyssa Bonilla, of WQPFP gave and
inspiring speech that encouraged the stewards to continue their
work in the years ahead.
GWQ Community Forestry Project steward, Nancy Perez (far right), presented the Western
Queens Power for the People group with a certificate of appreciation for their citizen action
work and advisory board oversight of the Community Forestry project.
The gathering was held at the Partnerships for Parks headquarters in the Arsenal Building
on Central Park.
Community stewards and stakeholders along with the GWQ Project Partners, City Parks
Foundation Executive Director Heather Lubov, (front row, center), and Partnerships for
Parks Director, Sabina Saragoussi (front row, second from right).

2
The citizens of
Western Queens
have built a resilient
community together.
They have formed connected
stewardship networks and
improved the quality of life for
their neighbors. Neighborhood and
local civic groups now have tree
care skills and connections to key
tree stewards in the project area.
A vital connection has been made
between the Northern & Southern
zones of the project area through the
Astoria 5 Network and the Woodside
Neighborhood Association. The two
groups have committed to staying
connected in the years ahead.
A seed fund has been set aside
to help the network of active hubs
expand their stewardship efforts in
the years ahead. Ideally the network
of hubs will come together and
identify an area of opportunity that
they would like to activate in 2015.
Partnerships for Parks has provided
the community with a 2015 Road
Map and Action Plan for sustained
stewardship in 2015 and beyond.
Western Queens Power for the People citizen action group
with 27th Street Block Association President (far right), are an
inspiration for the key community stewards leading the tree
care and greening initiatives into 2015 and beyond.
Programs like The P.S.11 Green Club participated in tree-care
events from 2012-2014. The Green Club program is led by a
key GWQ tree care and greening steward in Woodside who
will continue to lead greening initiatives in the years ahead.
Stewards from active hubs across the project forged lasting
connections with one another and formed tree care networks
that will work togther on greening projects in the future.
Stewards from several active hubs forged connections by
visiting one another’s work sites, sharing stories, and commit-
ing to work together in 2015 and beyond.
31.

Astoria Park
St. Michael’s Cemetery
Garden Bay Manor
Barclay Gardens
William C. Bryant
High School
Sunnyside Gardens Apartments
Woodside Houses
Stewardship Hub Area of Opportunity
Area of
Opportunity
Area of
Opportunity
Area of
Opportunity
There are 3 Main Areas
of Opportunity for More
Tree Stewardship.
At the time of this writing(December
2014), the nine active tree care hubs
are well equipped and committed to
continuing and evolving the program
as a community-led tree care and
greening initiative.
They have the tools and resources and
human power to not only continue their
stewardship efforts but also to expand
them over time.
There are 3 areas that have potential
for more stewardship. These three
areas are near several existing tree care
hubs and if the hub leaders recruit new
volunteers to help organize tree care
activities, the network of stewards
could easily expand and catalyze
more tree care activity within the GWQ
project area.
The proposed action plan that follows
suggests that the key stewardship
leaders from the active hubs consider
co-organizing several tree care events
with local stakeholder organizations in
the areas of opportunity, and use the
seed fund monies to help establish new
tree care hubs in the project area.
Stewardship Hub
Area of Opportunity
32.

Community Forestry Project: Road Map for Sustained Tree Care
Community Road Map + Action Plan for 2015 and Beyond

Elements to work with:
1.
PROPOSED ACTIVITIES
1.
2.
3.
2.
3.
1.
MAPS
WEB BASED TOOLS
PLANNING TOOLS
ORGANIZING TOOLS
EXISTING CONDITIONS MAP
PLANTING MAPS 2011-2014
MAP OF ACTIVE HUBS & AREAS
OF OPPORTUNITY MAP
GOOGLE GROUP PAGE
GWQ PROJECT WEB PAGE
E-NEWSLETTER
STEWARDSHIP SURVEY RESULTS
2014 PROJECT REPORT
PROJECT ASSETS MAP
STEWARDSHIP RESOURCES
RESOURCES FOLDER
STRATEGIC PLANNING
TEMPLATES

Notes to Consider: Quotes From Community Visioning Sessions & Working Group Meetings
“Stay connected as a network”
“Form a Coalition”
“Appoint an information officer to facilitate network-wide communication”
“Get the active hub leaders together “
“Set goals with measurable results”
“Plant more trees & make sure they get tree guards”
“Beautiful tree beds”
“Raise awareness of the values of an urban forest in Western Queens”
“Increase tree canopy and maintain clean, green spaces “
“Continue requesting replacements for dead trees“
“Plant new trees where there are gaps“
“Care for all of our trees & recruit others to join our efforts”
“Maintain Partnerships and Relationships “
“Reach out to more schools“
“Establish a system for communal tool use and storage “
“Clarify our vision”
2.

2
Get Together! Get some dates on the calendar for delegates from each of the active stewardship hubs to get together for a
series of 2 or 3 strategic planning sessions in early 2015. Review all your assets and tools. Identify ways the active stewardship
hubs can work together in the years ahead.
“Get the active hub leaders together “
PROPOSED ACTIVITIES
1.
2.
3.
2.
3.
1.
3.
Confirm The Group Structure Define Core Values Come to Consensus on Your Mission
Decide How You’ll Accomplish Your Mission Establish Your Goals & Milestones Develop an Action Plan for 2015
“Stay connected as a network”

2
Understand Your Assets. Review the materials in the GWQ Google Drive folder prepared by the Partnerships for
Parks Community Outeach team. Draw from these for inspiration and to inform your strategic plan.
Refer to the results from a 2013 survey of active tree care
stewards in the GWQ project area.
Use the Community Stewardship planning tools.
Understand the assets and tools you already have on hand.
Read through the 2014 Project Report.
4.

2
Establish Guiding Principles. At the strategic planning sessions, establish a set of norms and values for the
stewardship network to use as a an operating guide, these are also often called guiding principles.
Group Membership: Process/Criteria For Joining/Who Orients New Members to the Group?
Group Norms & Values:
•What are the values that our group believes in?
Group Collaboration: • What is our decision making process? Consensus?
• How do we decide who does what? • Do we want a hierarchical or non-
hierarchical group structure?
Fundraising: • How do we raise money? • Who manages our budget? • Who writes
the grant applications? • Do we have a grant application template and list of potential
funders along with their application deadlines?
Planning: • Is there an annual calendar or seasonal schedule in which we want to
frame our work? • What is our process for moving plans into actions?
Leadership: • Does our group have designated leaders or officers? • How are
leaders identified? • Are there written guidelines for roles and responsibilities?
Improvements and Success: • How do we measure our successes? • How do we
determine when improvements or changes are needed?
Internal Procedures: • Do we need priority working groups? • How do we
conduct our meetings? • How often do we meet? • Where do we meet?
• Does someone take notes and publish them after the meeting?
5.
“Establish a system for communal tool sharing and storage”
These forms are in the GWQ Google Drive Folder
prepared by Partnerships for Parks. You can print
them out and use them at the strategic planning
meetings.

2
Develop a Sustainable Blueprint (Strategic Plan) for ongoing tree stewardship in Western Queens using the
language generated during the community visioning activities facilitated by Partnerships for Parks from 2013-2014.
Typical Elements of a Strategic Plan:
Vision Statement: The Dream
Mission Statement: The What (The Purpose) and The Why
We are a coalition of community groups who care and advocate for local street trees so that
current and future generations can live healthy lives in Western Queens.
Example:
Example:
Our mission is to increase the urban tree canopy and care for existing trees in Western Queens
in order to improve air quality in our neighborhoods and beautify our blocks.
Core Values: A Common Belief or Thread Held By The Group Members
Example:
Trees Need People and People Need Trees.
Objectives/Goals/Priorities: What/How Much/By When/Where: Area of Operations
Example:
One of our goals is to accomplish a 3-5 % increase of the Western Queens Tree Canopy by 2020.
Strategy: How The Goals Will Be Accomplished
Example:
We work closely with our partners at NYC Parks Forestry to ensure that dead trees are
removed and replaced, and that newly planted street trees get planted in neighborhoods
where community stewards agree to provide sustained care of them in the crucial first 3
years of their lives
6.
“Clarify our vision”

2
Define the Goals for 2015 and look beyond 2015 toward a longer term set of goals: 2016-2020.
Useful Goals are usually S.M.A.R.T. : Specific, Measurable, Action oriented, Realistic, and Timely
• How many more trees do we need, and by when? Where will they be
planted? Who will care for them?
• Who do we need to work with to get more trees planted? How do we
contact them?
• Do we need to form a municipal tree board in Queens? Who would sit on
the board?
“More Trees!”
• How do we raise awareness? Through schools and other educational programs?
Through our community boards?
• What are the values of an urban forest? How do we communicate them to our neighbors?
“Raise awareness of the values of an urban forest in Western Queens”
• What’s the best method for reporting dead trees? How do we let everyone in the project
area know the process?
• Do we need to keep a running list of all the replacement requests we make throughout the
project area?
“Continue requesting replacements for dead trees“
• Do we need to establish a priority working group to build a school outreach plan for 2015?
• What is our message for schools? How do we want them to partner with us?
“Reach out to more schools“
7.
“Set goals with measurable results”

2
Step 2: Define the Area of Operations. Review the stewardship hubs and areas of opportunity maps, and
establish a set of goals and action steps for how to activate new stewardship groups to care for trees in the community forest.
Astoria Park
St. Michael’s Cemetery
Garden Bay Manor
Barclay Gardens
William C. Bryant
High School
Woodside Houses
Stewardship Hub Area of Opportunity
Area of
Opportunity
Area of
Opportunity
Area of
Opportunity
Map of all the new trees planted in the project area.
Identify ways the active hubs can work together as a network
of street tree stewards in Western Queens. Explore ways to
connect the northern and Southern zones of the project area.
Review the areas of opportunity map to identify areas that don’t
have ample tree stewardship. Locate nearby schools or civic
groups to contact about taking care of the GWQ trees.
“Care for all of our trees & recruit others to join our efforts”
Map of active stewardship hubs in the project area.
8.

Partners
}
North Star Fund
City Parks Foundation
NYC Parks/Forestry
Trees New York
NY Restoration Project
Build It Green!/NYC Compost
Bohemian Hall Cultural Center
Global Kids Program
Boys & Girls Club Sunnyside
Sunnyside Shines B.I.D.
GreenShores NYC
Astoria Park Alliance
Sunnyside Community Services
Queens Botanical Garden
Local Schools/Churches
{
}
Program Resources
{
Citizen Pruner Training
Tree Care Training Workshops
Partnerships Academy Fellowship
Mini-Grants
Community Group Training
GWQ 2015 Seed Fund
Tree Care Tools
Tree Guard Repair Kit
Hydrant Permits/Hoses/Adapters
Tree Care Captain Status/NYC Parks
Digital Map of Existing Trees
Planting Locations Map
Community Forestry Project Snapshot
4 Neighborhoods { Astoria • Woodside • Sunnyside • Long Island City }
TreesPeople
{9 Active Volunteer Groups
39 Local Partners
81 Citizen Pruners
361 Certified Tree Care Stewards
}
1128 New Trees
1Bioswale
2800 Perennials
5 Gardens
400 GWQ Tree Guards
“Maintain Partnerships and Relationships “
9.
2
Step 3: Identify Key Project Partners to contact as the coalition begins to introduce themselves to the
Western Queens Community. Build a list of partner organizations who have an existing relationship with the GWQ Community
Forestry Project and with whom you wish to form new relationships.
A Google Docs Folder filled with program partner contacts, contact lists,maps,case studies, important website
addresses, grant and funding resources, links to friends of urban forest groups in the U.S. , + how to instruction
sheets to access mulch, compost, and other tree care and planting materials, along with stewardship group
organizing kits and tip sheets has been shared with key community stewards.
Google Doc Resources Folder

2
Step 4: Develop a Communication System for keeping everyone in the core group informed, and for how
you will reach out to the wider network of GWQ Community Forestry Program stewards and local stakeholders.
“Appoint an information officer to facilitate network-wide communication”
10.
The GWQ Community Forestry Project has an existing Google Group
that key stewards have been trained to manage.
A web page about the GWQ Community Forestry project exists on the
City Parks Foundation website.
There is an established mailing list and monthly e-newsletter that
key stewards have been trained to manage.
Share the 2014 Program Report with new volunteers, as well as
potential program partners and funders.

2
Outline a quarterly calendar for 2015. Learn and plan together. Anticipate change, plan for possible set
backs, set deadlines and stick to them.
Quarterly Calendar Example
Q 1 2015: Jan/Feb/March:
January 2015 :
• Schedule Steering Committee planning meeting, & appoint a
meeting facilitator.
Possible Topics for the Meeting:
• Discuss the need or desire for a professional advisory panel
• Discuss goals and priorities for 2015
• Discuss goals and priorities for the long-term: 2016-2020
• Vote on goals and priorities
• Form priority working groups
February 2015:
Priority Working Groups get together to address specific tasks:
• Fine Tune Vision/Mission/Goals/Actions/Time line
March 2015:
Schedule a Planning Meeting:
• Share calendars for local tree care events for Spring 2015, publish them on
the Google group
• Schedule one signature tree care event for all stewards in
the project area to work together.
Q 2 2015: April/May/June:
April 2015 :
• Send out a Spring 2015 E-newsletter announcing the signature
event and provide a link to the full calendar of events for all the projects
across the whole area of operations
• Fine-tune signature event details
May 2015:
• Host signature tree care event to raise awareness of
the 2015 program
• Plan to have lunch together immediately after the event in order to discuss
lessons learned from the event, take notes & share them while the experi-
ence is fresh
June 2015:
• Establish summer watering plan, renew hydrant permits
• Build out summer events calendar, publish on the Google Group
11.

2
Build Out a 3-month Work Plan together 4 times per year, decide who is doing what by when, align the work
plan with the quarterly calendar. Publish the Work Plan and Calendar in a place where everyone can access it easily.
EXAMPLE: WINTER 2015 ACTION ITEMS + TIMING
ACTION ITEM TIMING
1.
Person Responsible/Notes
2.
3.
Schedule January Planning Meeting by January 15
Send out scheduling poll by January 5
Prepare Meeting Agenda by January 15 Share agenda for input from group
4.
Secure & Confirm Meeting Location by January 5
Everyone reply to poll by January 10
James is meeting facilitator this month
JB
JB
JB
5.
Develop Spring Event Ideas by January 15 Bring ideas to the meeting for discussion and voteAll
12.
Action Plan/Work Plan: Who Will Do What by When
Action Steps • Person Responsible • Date Action Step is to be Completed, Resources Required, Anticipated
Barriers, Potential Collaborators, Communication: Who Needs to Know About this Plan?

2M
Have Fun! Enjoy Each Other’s Company. Take Walks, Share Your Stories. Stay Connected. Keep Each Other Informed.
Learn to Make New Mistakes Together. Plan For Change! Maintain A Steady Momentum of Activity. Review Lessons Learned.
Celebrate Milestones & Accomplishments!
People Need Trees & Trees Need People

GWQ Summary + Road Map

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (19)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (14)

Similar to GWQ Summary + Road Map

Similar to GWQ Summary + Road Map (20)

GWQ Summary + Road Map