If you’ve ever dreamed up a project to take care of the neglected street trees in your community, if you’ve ever sat around thinking of creative, long-term, community-based solutions to educate and get others to dig in and help … it’s a great time to turn those ideas into reality. Join a group of like-minded people in our new program, Partnerships Academy: Street Trees! Applications are due June 15, 2008.

As part of this free one-year program, you can:

• Receive a grant of up to $1,000 to carry out your stewardship project
• Attend six-monthly skill-building workshops with a community of fellow tree stewards
• Get one-one one support throughout the year

We’re looking for street tree project ideas that can serve as models around the city, and that also engage the community. We encourage creativity. Imagine:

• Starting a team of neighborhood youth, seniors, and neighbors to adopt street trees
• Hosting a street festival and making artistic tree signage reflective of the culture and history of the neighborhood
• Starting a coalition of dog owners and tree stewards to raise awareness about dog waste in tree beds
• Combining public health and tree care in a weekly tree stewardship and exercise group

Sessions will be led by Partnerships for Parks and feature experienced tree stewards and MillionTreesNYC partners. Topics will address challenges such as watering, strategies to build relationships in the community, and project planning. For details, see www.PartnershipsForParks.org or call (212) 676-1929.