Local Leafin’: Street Tree Walking Tour Sunday 10/24

Japanese Maple leaves (red), with Linden in the background (yellow), at the corner of Rugby Road and Cortelyou Road in Beverley Square West, Flatbush, Brooklyn, November 2007.
Japanese Maple Leaves, P.S. 139, Beverley Square West, Brooklyn

The Sustainable Flatbush Fall 2010 Street Tree Walking Tour will be this Sunday, October 24. Tours begin at 11am and 12noon. I’m proud to once again be one of your guides. Your other guide will be Sam Bishop, Director of Education of Trees NY. As in the past, tours will start at Sacred Vibes Apothecary, our other community partner. This is also listed as a NeighborWoods Month event.

After a dry summer, October brought ample rains just in time to salvage some fall foliage. Dogwoods, Locusts, and Ash Trees are showing strong color. The neighborhood should be at near-peak foliage conditions for the year for the tour.

On the tour, you can see:

  • Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
  • Aesculus hippocastanum, Horsechestnut
  • Amelanchier, Serviceberry
  • Betula nigra, River Birch
  • Cercis canadensis, Redbud
  • Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
  • Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Red Cedar
  • Fraxinus americana, White Ash
  • Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo
  • Gleditsia triacanthos, Honey Locust
  • Liquidambar styraciflua, Sweetgum
  • Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood
  • Pinus strobus, White Pine
  • Platanus x acerifolia, London Plane
  • Pyrus calleryana, Flowering Pear, Callery Pear
  • Quercus palustris, Pin Oak
  • Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’, Columnar English Oak
  • Sophora japonica, Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
  • Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
  • Ulmus americana, American Elm

… and many more.

Map


View Sustainable Flatbush Fall 2010 Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

Press Release


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Brooklyn, NY October 17, 2010
SUSTAINABLE FLATBUSH FALL 2010 STREET TREE WALKING TOUR
Sunday, October 24, 2010

Ever wanted to leaf peep without leaving NYC? The Sustainable Flatbush 2nd Annual Fall Street Tree Walking Tour is a perfect opportunity to enjoy beautiful — and local — fall foliage in Brooklyn’s historic Victorian Flatbush! The neighborhood is filled with an incredible variety of breathtaking street trees—including some that are more than 100 years old! This year, our tree-expert tour guides will be Sam Bishop of Trees NY and neighborhood resident Chris Kreussling, aka Flatbush Gardener.

Throughout the tour, your street tree guide will…

  • identify trees and their characteristics
  • share interesting facts
  • explore local tree history
  • discuss the beneficial role of street trees in the urban environment
  • explain basics of street tree stewardship

and much more!

Location:
Tours start at Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Argyle Road, just south of Cortelyou Road.

Directions:
Take the Q train to Cortelyou Road and walk west after exiting the station toward Argyle Road. As a reminder, check the MTA website for schedule and service advisories before you head out.

Time:
Tours depart at 11:00 AM and 12:00 NOON.
Tours take about 2 hours to complete and are 1 mile in length.
This is a rain or shine event — please dress for the weather!

Suggested Donation: $5

CONTACT: info@sustainableflatbush.org / (718) 208-0575

Sustainable Flatbush brings neighbors together to mobilize, educate,
and advocate for sustainable living in our Brooklyn neighborhood and
beyond. For more information, please visit http://sustainableflatbush.org


[goo.gl GMAP]

Related Content

Previous Tree Tour Posts:

Factoids: Street Trees and Property Values, December 2, 2007
Factoids: NYC’s Street Trees and Stormwater Reduction, November 15, 2007
Basic Research: The State of the Forest in New York City, November 12, 2007

Albemarle Road, Local Landscape

Links

Sustainable Flatbush
Sacred Vibes Apothecary
Trees NY
NeighborWoods Month

Not just for Tree-Huggers: Street Tree Tour Sunday, 5/2

RESCHEDULED: The Tree Tour has been rescheduled for the rain date of Sunday, May 2, same times and location.


340 Argyle Road, Beverley Square West, April 2007
340 Argyle Road

Sustainable Flatbush’s 3rd Annual Spring Street Tree Walking Tour will be Sunday, May 2. I’m proud to once again be one of your guides.

Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour, Arbor Day 2009. That’s me in the middle, next to the tree. Photo by Keka (Flickr)

Tours start at 11am and 12noon from Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Argyle Road, between Cortelyou & Dorchester Roads, and loop through the historic neighborhoods of Beverley Square West and landmarked Prospect Park South. In addition to architectural beauty, the area boasts a rich variety of street trees, as well as ornamental trees and shrubs.


View Sustainable Flatbush Spring 2010 Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

On the tour, you can see:

  • Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
  • Aesculus hippocastanum, Horsechestnut
  • Amelanchier, Serviceberry
  • Betula nigra, River Birch
  • Cercis canadensis, Redbud
  • Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
  • Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Red Cedar
  • Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo
  • Gleditsia triacanthos, Honey Locust
  • Liquidambar styraciflua, Sweetgum
  • Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood
  • Pinus strobus, White Pine
  • Platanus x acerifolia, London Plane
  • Pyrus calleryana, Flowering Pear, Callery Pear
  • Quercus palustris, Pin Oak
  • Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’, Columnar English Oak
  • Sophora japonica, Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
  • Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
  • Ulmus americana, American Elm

… and many more.

The suggested donation for the tour is $5. From the Sustainable Flatbush Web site:


On Sunday, May 2, Sustainable Flatbush will host our fourth Street Tree Walking Tour! Join tour guides Chris Kreussling (better known as Flatbush Gardener) and Tracey Hohman (professional gardener) for a fun, fulfilling and enlightening tour of Brooklyn’s diverse canopy.

On the Street Tree Walking Tour, you will learn to identify a variety of trees (think of how you can impress your friends!), examine local natural tree history and tree lore (no textbooks needed!), explore the way street trees benefit urban areas (you’ll become a tree’s best friend), and find out how you can obtain and care for street trees yourself!

Become a street tree defender as you walk your way around Victorian Flatbush! The tour (recommended by Brokelyn as a great cheap date!) will take about two hours. Make sure to dress appropriately for the weather and the walk!

The Street Tree Walking Tour is about “connecting people to streetscape,” according to Chris Kreussling. Street trees remind us that we are not separate from nature, but instead dependent upon it for our survival and safety. So grab a friend — or three! – for the walk of the season, and fall more in love with the beautiful foliage of Brooklyn!

What: Street Tree Walking Tour
Where: Begins and ends at Sacred Vibes Apothecary (376 Argyle Road, btwn Cortelyou & Dorchester Roads)
When: Sunday, May 2 — two tours are scheduled: one at 11 a.m., one at noon

Suggested donation $5

Keep an eye out for Sustainable Flatbush’s Street Tree Walking Tour next fall!


Directions:

  • Take the Q train to Cortelyou Road Station and walk west after exiting the station toward Argyle Road.
  • As a reminder, check the MTA website for schedule and service advisories before you head out.
  • Buses that stop on or near Cortelyou Road include the B23, B103, B68, and BM1,2,3,4 and x29 express busess.

[goo.gl]

Related Content

Previous Tree Tour Posts:

Factoids: Street Trees and Property Values, December 2, 2007
Factoids: NYC’s Street Trees and Stormwater Reduction, November 15, 2007
Basic Research: The State of the Forest in New York City, November 12, 2007

Albemarle Road, Local Landscape

Links

Street Tree Walking Tour April 25th!, Sustainable Flatbush

Saturday, October 24: Meet the Trees

Fraxinus americana, White Ash, one of the street trees that will be on the tour.
Fraxinus americana, White Ash, 1216 Beverly Road

On Saturday, October 24, Sustainable Flatbush will host its first Fall Street Tree Walking Tour. And I’m looking forward to once again be one of the guides for the tour.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Brooklyn, NY October 16, 2009

SUSTAINABLE FLATBUSH FALL 2009 STREET TREE WALKING TOUR
Saturday, October 24, 2009—Rain or Shine

Based on the success of the annual walking tour events in celebration of Arbor Day and spring in bloom, Sustainable Flatbush is now introducing the inaugural Fall Street Tree Walking Tour. The tour guides will be Tracey Hohman, professional gardener, and Chris Kreussling, aka Flatbush Gardener, both neighborhood residents.


Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour, Arbor Day 2009. That’s me in the middle, next to the tree. Photo by Keka

Throughout the tour, your street tree guide will:

  • identify trees and their characteristics
  • share interesting facts
  • explore local tree history
  • discuss the many ways street trees benefit the environment
  • explain how to obtain and care for street trees
  • and much more!

This free event is a perfect opportunity to visit Victorian Flatbush in the heart of Brooklyn and experience the neighborhood’s breathtaking street trees—including some that are more than 100 years old!

Location:
Tours start at Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Argyle Road, just south of Cortelyou Road


View Sustainable Flatbush Fall 2009 Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

Directions:

  • Take the Q train to Cortelyou Road Station and walk west after exiting the station toward Argyle Road.
  • Buses that stop on or near Cortelyou Road include the B23, B103, B68, and BM1,2,3,4 and x29 express busess.
  • As a reminder, check the MTA website for schedule and service advisories before you head out.

Time:
Tours depart at 11:00 AM and 12:00 NOON.
Tours take about 2 hours to complete and are 1 mile in length.
This is a rain or shine event – please dress for the weather!

For more information, please contact Sustainable Flatbush


Foliage Report

The New York State Fall Foliage Report for the week of October 14-20 is reporting that NYC is “just changing.”

FoliageMap 20091016

I can confirm that, with Dogwoods, White Ash and now Locust trees all in full color. Sweet Gum and Oaks are starting to turn. If cooler weather persists through the week, peak colors will probably arrive just in time for Halloween on the 31st. Still, there should be lots of color for us to enjoy on the 24th.

A Japanese Maple on Marlborough Rad in Prospect Park South, part of the tour, November 2007
196 Marlborough Road, Prospect Park South

[bit.ly]

Related Content

Fall Approaches, 2009-09-26

Links

Fall Foliage Walking Tour October 24th!, Sustainable Flatbush

Flatbush Tree Tour, Saturday, April 25

2009.04.23 IMPORTANT TRANSIT SERVICE ADVISORY: The Manhattan-bound Q train will only stop at Church Avenue between Kings Highway and Prospect Park this weekend. Coney Island bound trains will make all stops.


Argyle Road in my neighborhood of Beverley Square West in Flatbush, Brooklyn, one of the blocks that will be on Saturday’s tour.
364 (left), 358, and 352 Argyle Road, Beverley Square West

This Saturday, April 25, join Sustainable Flatbush in our second year of celebrating Arbor Day and the magnificent street trees of Brooklyn’s Victorian Flatbush. The Sustainable Flatbush Arbor Day 2009 Street Tree Walking Tour reprises last year’s route, visiting the Victorian Flatbush neighborhoods of Beverley Square West and Prospect Park South.

Tours will depart at 11am and 12noon from Third Root Community Health Center at 380 Marlborough Road, just south of Cortelyou Road. [GMAP] Take the Q train to Cortelyou Road and walk one block west (left) to Marlborough Road after exiting the station.


View Sustainable Flatbush Arbor Day 2009 Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

Your tour guides will be my neighbor, Tracey Hohman, a professional gardener, and yours truly. Throughout the tour, we will:

  • identify trees and their characteristics
  • share interesting facts
  • explore local tree history
  • discuss the many ways street trees benefit the environment
  • explain how to obtain and care for street trees
  • and more

This FREE tour is a little over a mile in length and lasts approximately 90 minutes. Tours will take place rain or shine. Please gear appropriately for the weather and walk: sunscreen, comfortable walking shoes, water, and so on.

The area boasts a rich variety of both street trees and ornamental trees and shrubs. On the tour, you will see:

  • Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
  • Aesculus hippocastanum, Horsechestnut
  • Amelancier, Serviceberry
  • Betula nigra, River Birch
  • Cercis canadensis, Redbud
  • Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
  • Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Red Cedar
  • Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo
  • Gleditsia triacanthos, Honey Locust
  • Liquidambar styraciflua, Sweetgum
  • Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood
  • Pinus strobus, White Pine
  • Platanus x acerifolia, London Plane
  • Pyrus calleryana, Flowering Pear, Callery Pear
  • Quercus palustris, Pin Oak
  • Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’, Columnar English Oak
  • Sophora japonica, Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
  • Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
  • Ulmus americana, American Elm
  • … and many more

For more information about the tour, please email garden AT sustainableflatbush DOT org.

Sustainable Flatbush brings neighbors together to discuss, educate, and advocate for sustainable living in our Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond.

[bit.ly]

Related Content

Arbor Day posts

Links

Sustainable Flatbush

Resources

Web

To request a free street tree, fill out the form at http://www.nyc.gov/freetree

Million Trees NYC
Trees New York

Online Tree ID Guide, Arbor Day Foundation

Books

Dirr, Michael A. Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Timber Press. ISBN-13: 9780881924046

Albemarle Road, Local Landscape

One block from my home, in the landmarked Prospect Park South Historic District, Albemarle Road spans six blocks, from Coney Island Avenue to the B/Q subway cut. Albemarle Road is part of the Flatbush Malls, an extended series of streetscape gardens created by some of the developers who carved suburbs out of Flatbush farmland starting in the late 1890s.

A photograph of Albemarle Road as viewed from the train tracks 100 years ago, in 1909.
Albemarle And Buckingham Roads, Prospect Park South, 1909 Postcard

One of the class projects for my Urban Garden Design class with Nigel Rollings at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a written project, for which there were several options. I chose to write about a “local landscape.” And Albemarle Road certainly is that. I’ve been captivated by this landscape since we first started househunting in the area. The more extensive stretches of Flatbush Malls lie south and east of me, along Glenwood Road and East 17th Street. Albemarle Road is a 2-minute walk from my home. It’s given me a chance to inhabit and study this landscape close-hand.

I’ve been photographing Albemarle Road since we moved to the area. I’m compiling more reference material on the history of this landscape and its designer, which I’ll save for a future post. In the meantime, please enjoy these views of Albemarle Road in all four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, and – saving what I think is the best for last – Fall.

Much of the character of Albemarle Road is, by design, imparted by the deep private gardens of the front yards. So I’ve also highlighted two properties I’ve photographed at different times of the year, each of which captures, in its own way, the seasonal beauty of Albemarle Road.

Winter

Looking west from Buckingham Road, similar to the view in the 1909 photograph, January 2009.
Albemarle Road, looking west from Buckingham Road

1306 Albemarle Road, December 2008
1306 Albemarle Road, Prospect Park South

Composite panoramic view from the corner of Westminster Road
Corner of Albemarle and Westminster Roads

Spring

Western end of Albemarle Road, at Coney Island Avenue, April 2008
Albemarle Road, Prospect Park South

Rugby Road, East side, South of Albemarle Road, April 2007
Rugby Road, East side, South of Albemarle Road

Summer

1314 Albemarle Road, September 2006
1314 Albemarle Road

1510 Albemarle Road, September 2006
1510 Albemarle Road

131 Buckingham Road, September 2006
131 Buckingham Road, "The Japanese House"

Fall

Corner of Albemarle and Marlborough, looking east, November 2007
Corner of Albemarle and Marlborough, Prospect Park South

Corner of Marlborough and Albemarle Roads, looking northwest November 2007
Corner of Marlborough and Albemarle Road, Prospect Park South

Albemarle Road, looking west from Rugby Road, November 2007
Albemarle Road, looking west from Rugby Road, Prospect Park South

1406 Albemarle Road, October 2006
1406 Albemarle Road

1423 Albemarle Road, November 2007
1423 Albemarle Road, Prospect Park South

1510 Albemarle Road, November 2006. The trees at the left in the adjacent vacant lot were all downed by the Brooklyn tornado of August 2007. It’s now the location of the Flatbush CommUNITY Garden.
1510 Albemarle Road

On the same block, looking from the other direction, with the vacant lot on the left, on August 8, 2007.
Albemarle Road, South side, looking West from Buckingham Road

1305 Albemarle Road

Winter

1305 Albemarle Road

Spring

1305 Albemarle Road

Summer

1305 Albemarle Road

1505 Albemarle Road

Winter

1505 Albemarle Road

Spring

1505 Albemarle Road

Summer

1505 Albemarle Road, Prospect Park South

Fall

1505 Albemarle Road, Prospect Park South

Related Content

Winter Wonderland, 2009.01.19
The Flatbush CommUNITY Garden, Brooklyn’s (and NYC’s!) newest community garden, 2008.09.16
One Year Ago [Tornado recap], 2008.08.08
Albemarle Road in Prospect Park South featured in the Times, 2008.06.21
Forgotten Flatbush: The Albemarle Road Pedestrian Bridge, 2007.11.25

Winter Wonderland

The south side of Albemarle Road looking east from Rugby Road around 10am this morning.
Albemarle Road, south side, looking east from Rugby Road

After shoveling and de-icing the steps and sidewalk this morning, I walked over to the landmarked Prospect Park South Historic District for the photo op. I’m glad I did. I was rewarded with these beautiful, snowy images.

I concentrated on Albemarle Road as part of my research into the history of its design and documentation of the current landscape for my Urban Garden Design class at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Somebody has to do it.

Looking toward the northwest corner of Albemarle and Rugby Roads
Albemarle and Rugby Roads, Northwest corner

Albemarle Road, South side, looking west from Buckingham Road. Behind the chain link fence on the left lies the Flatbush CommUNITY Garden.
Albemarle Road, South side, looking west from Buckingham Road

Details

The border of Prospect Park South is delineated by these brick posts surmounted with concrete planters. The street labels have been replaced at least once, having been weathered to near-illegibility from a century of exposure. The monogram is “PPS”: Prospect Park South.
Gatepost, Beverly and Westminster Roads

Some of Brooklyn’s famous parrots were flocked high up in the top of this snowy American Elm tree on Albemarle Road. There are three parrots in this cropped image. If I were to produce an invasive species calendar, this would be a good image for it.
Brooklyn Parrots in Snowy American Elm

Oak Leaves
Oak Leaves

Holly, Flatbush Malls, Albemarle Road
Holly

Branches, Flatbush Malls, Albemarle Road
Branches, Flatbush Malls, Albemarle Road

Lantern, 131 Buckingham Road, “The Japanese House”
Lantern, 131 Buckingham Road

Houses

1203 Albemarle Road
1203 Albemarle Road

1305 Albemarle Road
1305 Albemarle Road

1406 Albemarle Road / 135 Rugby Road, Prospect Park South, Flatbush, Brooklyn
135 Rugby Road / 1406 Albemarle Road
1406 Albemarle Road / 135 Rugby Road

1505 Albemarle Road
1505 Albemarle Road

1510 Albemarle Road
1510 Albemarle Road

143 Buckingham Road
143 Buckingham Road

131 Buckingham Road
131 Buckingham Road

Related Content

Flickr photo set

Happy Holidays

The MTA thwarted our plans to attend a concert of a women’s choir this evening. So Blog Widow and I turned back and walked around our neighborhood, taking in the snow-beings and holiday lights.

Enjoy this slideshow of my Flickr set of photos from the evening. For best viewing, click the play button, then click the icon with four arrows in the lower-right to view it full-screen on a black background.

Related Content

Flickr set

One Year Ago

Trees snapped in half on Marlborough Road at Albemarle Road, Prospect Park South, on August 8, 2007. This area incurred the most dramatic damage in Flatbush, with scores of trees downed on the street and private property.
Trees snapped on Marlborough Road

The Brooklyn Tornado of 2007 struck one year ago today.

1510 Albemarle Road

I featured this house in Conservatory Envy in September 2006. I took this shot in November 2006.
1510 Albemarle Road

The tree on the right was a casualty of the tornado.
Trees downed by tornado, 1510 Albemarle Road, Prospect Park South

Here’s how it looked from across the street in November 2006.
1510 Albemarle Road

And after the tornado.
Trees downed by tornado, 1510 Albemarle Road, Prospect Park South

Related Content

Tornado Damage in Prospect Park South, Caton Park and Beverley Square West, August 8, 2007
Tornado Damage, Victorian Flatbush, August 8, 2007 (Flickr photo set)