Welcome to the Lives of Trees project, based in Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, New York

I’ve always loved being around trees. And living near Fort Greene Park, I’ve been really lucky to be near some of the most beautiful trees in New York City. Over the years, I’ve been trying to get to know them better. Recently, I started taking pictures and some videos, and doing some research to capture the “lives of the trees” in the park. Here are some of the things I’ve gathered over the past few months.

Another goal of this project is to learn what other people who spend time in the park think about the trees. Please post comments, or send me an email at livesoftrees@gmail.com.

Thanks!
Mira
Please note. I've only recently set up this blog, and am still retroactively adding posts from the last few months. Feel free to view posts in any order to see the trees across the seasons.

The English Elm, July 7, 2007

This English elm is one of the oldest and grandest trees in the park. Based on its size, it’s likely that it was planted in the era of Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux, who designed the park in 1867. This tree may be over 140 years old!

I wanted to photograph a day in the life of this tree, since it presides over so much: tee-ball games, dogs frolicking, soccer in the evenings, high school track team practice. It is a shelter for picnickers and afternoon relaxers.

Elms in the US have been wiped out by Dutch Elm’s disease, but trees like this English elm have survived with careful monitoring from the Parks department. Olmstead loved elms and the few large old elms in this park are likely of his legacy.


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