By Meg A. Parsont
For anyone who feels a twinge of melancholy when they have to say goodbye to their Christmas tree, or who – like me (and Phoebe Buffay from “Friends”) – has an urge to provide a home for the abandoned trees that pile up on the streets after Christmas, the city’s Parks Department has the antidote: Mulchfest. Not only does this program give folks a chance to bid a fond farewell to their trees, it also enables the parks department to help support community gardens and planting beds in all five boroughs. In this initiative, holiday trees are turned into gardening mulch that helps deter weeds, retain moisture, increase soil fertility, and keep roots warm.
On Saturday, the Riverside Park Conservancy celebrated Mulchfest 2025 in Riverside Park at West 83rd Street. Some families brought their trees to the site; other volunteer participants “de-Christmased” the trees by removing leftover ornaments, lights, and tinsel.
After Parks Department staff put the trees through the chipper, volunteers helped spread the mulch around trees along Riverside Drive. Others filled small cotton bags with fragrant pine needles and wood chips, which volunteers were invited to take home with them. By early Saturday afternoon, 1,278 trees had been chipped on the Riverside Park site, according to Kristen Meade, director of volunteer initiatives for the Riverside Park Conservancy.
The citywide holiday tradition began over 20 years ago, and each year it continues to grow. With 75 sites throughout the five boroughs, the city has mulched an average of 25,000-30,000 trees each year; during Mulchfest 2024, over 42,000 trees were chipped.
During Mulchfest 2025, Riverside Park Conservancy staff were on hand to provide instructions, work gloves, hand warmers, coffee, and hot chocolate. And the Grinch himself made an appearance to help spread distinctly un-Grinchy cheer! Mulchfest 2025 helped banish this reporter’s post-holiday let-down, and gave us all a chance to meet our neighbors and be part of a day’s work that will help nourish plantings in and around the park all year.
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.
Please keep Gale Brewer away from the wood chipper.
One would hope it was turned off when the picture was taken.
Pretty scary and dangerous if not.
Did you know that as many as 25,000 insects, mites, and spiders may inhabit a typical seven-foot Xmas tree (https://www.uib.no/en/news/36511/what-lives-my-christmas-tree)? Now you do!
It’s fun each year to extrapolate the number in the Rockefeller Center tree.