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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OCTOBER 26, 2009

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Kate Blumm (BBG): 718-623-7241
Arturo Garcia-costas (NYSDEC): 917-664-2334

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to Name Two Trees at Brooklyn Botanic Garden State Champions

First New York City Trees To Receive Honor


Brooklyn, New York—OCTOBER 27, 2009—Today, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) designated two trees at Brooklyn Botanic Garden "State Champions," affirming that they are the largest of their species on record in the state. The trees, a Kansas hawthorn (Crataegus coccinioides) and a holly (Ilex ambigua var. monticola) are the first trees in New York City to receive this honor. Only native or naturalized, nonhybrid species are eligible for champion designation. These specimens were nominated by a private citizen and their dimensions verified by the DEC.

A recognition ceremony was held this afternoon at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, during which BBG president Scot Medbury and DEC Region 2 director Suzanne Y. Mattei delivered brief remarks. "We are proud to accept this recognition on behalf of several generations of BBG horticulturists, whose expert stewardship has caused these trees to thrive," Medbury said. "Planted in 1912, two years after Brooklyn Botanic Garden's founding, the hawthorn is emblematic of BBG's century-long commitment to the conservation of the native flora of New York. We applaud the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Big Tree Register program, which will help inspire New York's future generations of environmental stewards."

"It is no surprise that the first two State Champion Big Trees in New York City are on the grounds of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden," DEC New York City Director Suzanne Mattei said. "BBG is one of the nation's premier horticultural institutions, and you only need to look around to see what an amazing steward they are of living treasures such as these."

After the ceremony, educators from the DEC led a group of students from BBG's affiliated high school, Brooklyn Academy for Science and the Environment, in a workshop on the techniques used to measure big trees.

For more information on the New York State Big Tree Register and champion status, please visit www.dec.ny.gov/animals/5248.html. For more information on big trees at BBG, please visit bbg.org/exp/bigtrees/info/what.html.