Branch out: Get a free tree next weekend to raise as your own

It’s hard to remember after a long winter, but New York can get really pretty once it warms up. And not just in Prospect Park and other parks. There are trees and flowers on every block you walk down that add color and life to an otherwise concrete-dominated landscape. If you want to help keep things pretty, you can grab a tree from Gowanus this weekend. Just try not to get any canal water on it once you have it.

The New York Restoration Project’s “MillionTreeNYC” program seeks to give trees to anyone in Brooklyn who asks. And they even give you tips on how to grow your tree, so that it will give you shade in the summer and branches, to swing at and chase away large raccoons, invading aliens and other threats your safety. If you want a tree, register with NYRP here and then head down to the salt lot at 2 Second Avenue in Gowanus next Saturday between 11am and 1pm to pick up and learn how to raise your arboreal buddy. Just don’t leaf things until the last minute, it’d be a shame to see your dream of owning a tree die on the vine.

[h/t Brooklyn Based]