It is the circle of plant life.
Brooklynites said “wood-bye” to their old Christmas trees during the Parks Department’s annual Mulchfest last weekend, hauling festive firs to 19 locations around the borough to be chipped into plant food for the city’s parks. The activity is both a great way to get rid of a past-its-prime tannenbaum and to teach kids about the environment, according to one dad.
“I explained to my son that this was a good thing for the earth and the tree and he was on board,” said David Gerard, who brought his 4-year-old son Dean to get their pine pulverized in Marine Park.
Borough of Kings tree-cyclers pulped some 9,191 firs this year — roughly the same number as 2016, but down nearly 1,000 trunks since the Kings County’s best showing in 2015, when Brooklynites contributed 10,000 trees.
Still, the 21-year-old wood-stock festival is such a beloved tradition in Brooklyn that participants say it feels like just another part of the holiday season.
“It kind of keeps the Christmas spirit alive for awhile in the park,” said Park Sloper Eleni Broadwell, who has been attending for five years, and took her saggy old sapling to a mulching machine set up in Prospect Park.
Participants can take home a bag of mulch to spread around their own gardens, or donate their entire arbor to the cause.
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