The Nature of the Square newsletterSign up!
A large pile of Christmas trees waiting to be chipped into mulch.

Washington Square Park – Turned Over a New Leaf

Did you get the idiom in the title? Speaking of leaves, when you visit the park at this time of year, the leaves you’ll see are evergreen–broadleaf (ex: hollies) and needle-leaf (ex: Eastern White Pine). Look at the Mulch Fest pile! It has grown. If you participate, remove decorations, plastic, any and everything that’s fake.

QUERCUS oak scuplure set up on plaza in a park on City of Forest Day October 15 2022 Photo by Hannah Emple

QUERCUS in Washington Square Park

Local Nature Lab, our parent org, commissioned Data Vandals to design and build QUERCUS. The data-rich bio-artwork was piloted in Washington Square Park on July 30, 2022. A big shout out to the backers of the Kickstarter campaign and to all the park-goers who took a look, asked questions, and shared stories. Enjoy this video

A map of tree canopy and the flow of Minetta Brook in/through Washington Square Park in NYC

Washington Square Park Tree Map is live again!

The Washington Square Park eco map is back! Our thanks to Dakota London, an NYU student, who worked with us this summer. The map includes most of the park’s trees as well as adjacent sidewalk trees. The map also includes the route of Minetta Brook, data courtesy of Steve Duncan, PhD. View the map. A

Inflorescence of an oakleaf hydrangea

Washington Square Park – June 8, 2022

TreeWonderWSP is back for the rest of June! Come join us to observe and draw (or write) the oldest tree in Manhattan. Yes, the English Elm in the northwest corner of the park is the island’s oldest tree. There are a couple of places to find hawthorns in the park. There are several trees growing