Tree Wonder is a community eco-art initiative to raise awareness of nature in the city and promote in-person ecological learning. The focus is Manhattan’s oldest tree, the majestic English Elm in Washington Square Park, said to be more than 300 years old. Thousands of park visitors from the neighborhood, the city, and the world walk by this awe-inspiring tree, but rarely stop to observe and wonder.
On Sundays in Spring and Fall, 11:30 AM to 1 PM, we host free drawing sessions at the base of the English Elm. Each session is led by an invited artist who shares drawing techniques with participants or inspires them with prompts to draw from. Free drawing materials and paper are always provided and all ages and experience levels are encouraged to participate!
Our drawing sessions began in the spring of 2022 and our community has since produced over 2,000 drawings of the monumental English Elm! Click here to explore our archive of drawings of this historic tree.
Tree Wonder is led by visual artist Kristin Jones and urban forester Georgia Silvera Seamans of Washington Square Park Eco Projects, an initiative of Local Nature Lab.
Tree Wonder is largely run by volunteers. Donate.
Email to volunteer on Sundays or to be a visiting artist.
Spring 2025 Calendar
March: 23,30
April: 6,13,27
May: 4,18,25
June: 1,8,22
Fall 2024 Calendar – Dates and Artists
SEPTEMBER 2024
September 1 – Deborah Chi
September 8 – Marissa Stanton
September 15 – Pamela Turczyn
September 22 – Nick Golebiewski
September 29 – Phyllis Trout
OCTOBER 2024
October 6 – ShinYeon Moon
October 13 –
October 20 – Carol Fabricatore
October 27 – Ellen Driscoll
NOVEMBER 2024
November 3 – Miriam Kurman
November 10 – Kate Gridley
November 17 – End of Season Celebration
Spring 2024 Calendar – Dates and Artists
APRIL 2024
April 7 – Katie Holten and Ellen Harvey
April 14 – Sam Wade Levy
April 21 – Ishita Jain
April 28 – Nora Humphrey Logan
MAY 2024
May 5 – Ilene Sunshine
May 19 – Sonita Singwi
May 26 – Janet Morgan
June 2024
June 2 – Jessica Dalrymple
June 9 – Phyllis Trout
June 16 – Jennifer Orkin Lewis
June 23 – Camila A. Morales
Fall 2023 Calendar
SEPTEMBER 2023
September 3 – Nikki Lindt
September 10 – TBD
September 17 – Ann McCoy
September 24 – Miriam Kurman
OCTOBER 2023
October 1 – Tracy Gilman
October 8 – Ernesto Caivano
October 15 – William Corwin
October 22 – TBD
October 29 – Ishita Jain
Spring 2023 Dates and Artists
15 Sundays in Spring 2023 beginning on March 19 and ending on June 25
March 19 – Kristin Andrea Jones
March 26 – Nancy Lowe
April 2 – Christy Rupp and Abby Goldstein
April 9 – no program
April 16 – Simonetta Moro
April 23 – Diana Horowitz
April 30 – Nikki Lindt
May 7 – Stephen Braun
May 14 – Melanie Vote
May 21 – Terri Hackett
May 28 – no program
June 4 – Deborah Chi
June 11 – Lucia Cozzi and Maria Bonomi
June 18, 25 – TBD
Fall 2022 Dates
OCTOBER 2022
Oct 9 – Jennifer Orkin Lewis
Oct 16 – Nick Golebiewski
Oct 23 – Katie Holten
Oct 30 – Ishita Jain
NOVEMBER 2022
Nov 6 – Julian Stellato
Nov 13 – Sue Ferguson Gussow