Brooklyn Botanic Garden President Adrian Benepe speaks on the power of trees and the 30% tree coverage goal

In a recent City Council hearing, the Parks Department was called on by environmentalists and officials to increase New York City’s tree canopy from the current 22% to 30% by 2035, an ambitious goal that would see the city investing in trees as actors against climate change. Adrian Benepe, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG), believes that the goal is one worth fighting for.

“There are so many good reasons to do this,” Benepe said in an interview with the Eagle. “Trees have superpowers, and we’re now understanding more and more the huge value of trees in communities. It’s always been accepted that if you live on a tree lined street that’s a very nice street…So part of the purpose of the building trees campaign is to get equity and get every neighborhood to have trees because of the benefits it brings: trees make neighborhoods cooler while absorbing pollution, giving out oxygen, and increasing real estate value by making a prettier block.”

Benepe does realize, however, that this 30% quota will not be an easy one to hit. “A lot of the low hanging fruit has already been picked, so to speak. A lot of the areas where we could plant trees, trees have already been planted…A lot of the canopy…will have to be added and preserved on private property.” During his time as Parks Commissioner, Benepe helped launch a similar initiative called the Million Trees Program. “Part of the Million Trees Program was to encourage people to plant trees and give away trees for people to plant. So they’ll have to do an equivalent and really push hard for planting trees on private property.” This isn’t the only obstacle course getting in the way of the 30% quota, however—half of the battle is maintaining the trees that currently…