Cooling the Campus

Trees New York Launches New Planting Initiative at Kingsborough Community College!

Trees New York is thrilled to announce our newest tree planting project, Cooling the Campus.  This new project is in partnership with CUNY’s Kingsborough Community College (KCC) and will serve as a replicable model for other CUNY campuses and institutional spaces tackling extreme heat. The project is also in alignment with the NYC Urban Forest Plan goal to increase the city’s canopy cover to 30% citywide, specifically leveraging property types with the most opportunity for new plantings.

KCC’s stunning 70-acre coastal campus – a vital resource for students, faculty, and neighbors – lost 250-plus trees in Hurricane Sandy. The impact to the campus was significant because most of the trees lost were large, mature trees. The campus is now hotter, which has altered how students use the campus. By completion, Trees New York will increase the canopy cover on the Kingsborough Community College campus by planting a minimum of 75 trees across their 70-acre campus.

The addition of new trees will offer numerous tangible benefits, including:

• Environmental Resilience: Enhancing KCC’s campus canopy will help mitigate the urban heat island effect, manage stormwater runoff, and contribute to local biodiversity.

• Educational Opportunities: A diverse, expanded urban forest and the native plant pollination garden serve as a living laboratory for KCC environmental clubs and for science, sustainability, and urban agriculture students, providing hands-on learning experiences right outside the classroom.

• Community Well-being: Expanding KCC’s green spaces directly supports the mental health and well-being of our student body and staff, creating a more welcoming, vibrant space for study and reflection.

The KCC facilities team, faculty, and students from the environmental and sustainability club will assist Trees New York and help us create a planting and maintenance plan.

Trees New York will ensure these trees are not only planted successfully but also contribute to much-needed sustainability and environmental education.

We kicked off the project in celebration of City of Forest Day 2026, by planting five Kwanzan Cherry trees. Learn more about Cooling the Campus here.