The Jersey City Parks Coalition announced plans today to plant 5,000 trees across the city over the next five years.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop joined the vice president of the coalition, Mory Thomas, in a press conference at City Hall to announce the “City of Trees” initiative.
The city has committed $60,000 for each year of the five-year project. The first phase of the project, in October, will focus on planting in public parks and open spaces.
The initiative will also include the launching of the Jersey City OpenTreeMap. The app will be free and available to the community, and it will let residents identify and log trees, and get info on what kind of maintenance it requires, and its environmental benefits.
The Jersey City Parks Coalition is a private, not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization founded in 2005 that assists in the development and maintenance of Jersey City’s parks and public spaces. The mission of the Jersey City Parks Coalition is to empower residents to develop, renovate, use and maintain their community parks and public spaces of Jersey City; thereby revitalizing neighborhoods and lifting communal and human spirits.
The Coalition aspires to build a great city-wide organization that sets the standard for, and spreads the principles of, democracy through community empowerment and the principles of world-class park management for the betterment of all residents.The Coalition is committed to sustaining this operating model to provide a legacy for future generations of Jersey City residents and all users of the park and public space.
Beginning with three member parks, The Jersey City Parks Coalition has grown to more than 20 community and parks groups that maintain, beautify and organize activities for their parks and surrounding neighborhoods. All residents are welcome to join any of the member organizations working on parks and public spaces near you.