In late October 2013 I was lucky enough to be invited to the United States to participate in a Leadership Workshop with the International Society of Arboriculture in Illinois. This was the perfect opportunity to tack on a holiday with my wife in New York City before heading to the workshop.
We flew into New York in the middle of the day, and the first thing that you see is how green this immense city is. Of course Central Park stands out like a beacon of green for all to see.
Our first day was spent in the park, yes the whole day! We entered the park at 100th St, and were met with walkers, runners, rollerbladers, bike riders, nannies, and tourists alike. Coming from the hustle and bustle of the city that doesn’t sleep, the first thing that strikes you is how quiet the park is.
The park offers a great escape for city dwellers from the madness that is New York. Throughout the park there are lakes, museums, castles, ponds, baseball fields, live entertainment, restaurants, tennis courts and more importantly a plethora of TREES! The park covers 340 hectares with over 21,500 trees, covering 31 families within the deciduous and coniferous classes of trees, 71 genera, and 152 species. It is also home to thousands of species of flowers that vary from season to season throughout the Park in its many gardens. Littered through the park you will find American Elms, a variety of Oaks, Maples, Cherry trees and many, many more.
The Elm trees numbers have been tragically reduced due to Dutch elm disease decimating their numbers. Overall the trees in the park are well kept and healthy.
Every day we were there we saw tree crews trimming and maintaining the trees. I thought to myself this would be a great place to work. Maybe BTE should put a tender in.
The greatest reward for us while we were there was the leaves started changing from the deepest green to light yellows and oranges that is autumn. It was a truly wonderful experience which I would recommend to all visiting NYC.
Glenn Walton is the owner and director at Brisbane Tree Experts. Brisbane Tree Experts is a family-owned tree maintenance and tree removal business that has been trusted by the people of Brisbane for over 40 years.
