St. John's University Expands Partnership with MillionTreesNY to its Staten Island Campus

St. John's University is furthering its commitment to protecting the environment by partnering with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and New York Restoration Project’s MillionTreesNYC initiative and extending tree planting to include its Staten Island campus.

In June, 314 new trees were planted on the University’s Staten Island campus. Twelve different species of trees were planted including Dogwood, Pear, Oak and Japanese Lilac trees – adding diversity to the beauty of the verdant campus grounds. One thousand new trees initially were allocated to St. John's University’s Queens campus, going a long way to enhance the “greening” of the University and the sustainability of the City’s environment.

St. John's University joins MillionTreesNYC, a citywide initiative led by New York Restoration Project (NYRP) and the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation with the ambitious goal of planting and caring for one million new trees across the City's five boroughs by 2017.  The tree planting on St. John’s campuses was generously supported by grant funding provided by David Rockefeller and Bloomberg Philanthropies in partnership with The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.

The University’s Facilities Services Department, Office of Community Relations and Office of Media Relations are combining efforts to place, care for and publicize the benefits of the trees in the wider community. The first trees were planted in late December 2008 and spring 2009 on the Queens campus, and now, with the 314 recently planted on the Staten Island campus, total 877 new trees thus far.
 
Joseph Sciame, Vice President for Community Relations at St. John's University, indicated, “We are all absolutely delighted that St. John’s Queens and Staten Island campuses were selected as MillionTreesNYC tree planting sites, whereby we are active participants in the Mayor’s PlaNYC – a long-term plan for making our great city greener and more sustainable. We applaud the Mayor and NYRP, as we afford a rich opportunity for our students to see the city at work and improve the environment. It all becomes a ‘teaching moment’ in their lives and creates a fuller awareness of the world about us.”

New York Restoration Project (NYRP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to reclaiming and restoring New York City parks, community gardens and open space. Since the organization’s founding by Bette Midler in 1995, NYRP has achieved dramatic results by investing in the greening and beautification of underserved communities throughout New York City – planting hundreds of thousands of trees, shrubs and flowers to support the restoration of public parks and community gardens; restoring and helping maintain six New York City parks; and removing over 1,905 tons of garbage from the City’s green spaces.  In 1999, Midler and NYRP saved 114 community gardens from commercial development and established the New York Garden Trust to ensure NYRP’s precious plots of land remain public gardens in perpetuity.  In partnership with the NYC Parks Department, NYRP is also leading the MillionTreesNYC initiative, including raising millions of dollars to support tree planting citywide.

St. John’s role in MillionTreesNYC is the latest effort in the University’s ongoing commitment to Mayor Bloomberg’s long-term environmental sustainability goals for New York City. In keeping with STJ’s Vincentian Mission, these eco-friendly measures to “go green” will help ensure the quality of life for generations of New Yorkers.

For further information, visit http://www.nyrp.org.  For media inquiries, please contact Elizabeth Reilly, Assistant Director of Media Relations at St. John’s, by calling (718) 990-6185, or by e-mail to reillye@stjohns.edu.