Free-A-Tree
The 2009-10 Free-A-Tree Season began Sunday, October 18th and ended Sunday, April 11th.
All vine-cuttings take place at our Farragut Avenue restoration site in Hastings-On-Hudson — exit 13 off the Saw Mill Parkway. For more information click here.
Fast-growing, invasive vines threaten to overwhelm local habitats. Oriental bittersweet and porcelainberry, the two most common invaders, crowd out native plants, steal their water, and slowly strangle trees, eventually creating canopies that block the sun from trees and under-story plants. This significantly diminishes the value of wildlife habitat, in terms of food sources and nesting areas, and has a negative impact on the number of species that can use the river corridor.
The Saw Mill River Coalition and the New York State Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation have been working together since 2005 on the Free-A-Tree project, which organizes and supports volunteers in their efforts to remove the invasive vines, rescue native vegetation, restore the stream buffer, and preserve the area’s biodiversity.
Vine-cuttings are generally scheduled from October through April. To volunteer or for more information please email emily@groundworkhv.org or call 914-375-2151.
The Free-A-Tree Schedule is posted on the Coalition’s website at http://www.sawmillrivercoalition.org.
Among the community organizations who have participated are the Ardsley High School students, Hastings High School Environmental Club, College of Mount Saint Vincent students, Pleasantville Garden Club, Saw Mill River RATz, Bronx River Vine Cutters, Federated Conservationists of Westchester, Westchester Environmental Student Council, Hudson River Audubon Society, and many others.