A new lending library in Norwood is providing community members with essential tools to take care of the city's trees.

It's a partnership between the James Baldwin Outdoor Learning Center, The Nature Conservancy, the Lower East Side Ecology Center and other city organizations.

The library is filled with various tools that people can use to trim vines, pick up trash, dig holes for garden beds and more. Organizers of the library say this is essential for people who want to take care of nature, but don't have the resources to do so.

"Having access to tools is always a challenge. They're heavy. And where do you keep them? And so having a lending library for tools is very much an advantage to communities who need access to things but don't have them," said Matt Lopez-Jensen, an artist, educator, and super steward at the Mosholu Teaching Forest.

Lopez-Jensen said if trees aren't taken care of, vines will take over and kill the trees

"When you have healthier trees, they're pulling more carbon, they're storing more water. They're doing all the things you want a tree in an urban environment to do," he said.

The Nature Conservancy said its goal is to increase the city's urban forest canopy to 30% by 2035. The group works with nearly 200 organizations to help achieve that goal.

"Community stewardship and taking care of trees is so important to help us reach that goal. One of the key things is making sure that people have the tools available to do that. I think many of us live in the city, live in an apartment, and might not have room for all of the tools that's needed, like shovels and gloves. It's really important that there's a place that people can go to to borrow these tools, just like a book, borrow it, take care of it, and then when you're done, put it back so that other community members can use them, too," said Tami Lin-Moges, the director of the NYC program at The Nature Conservancy.

Click here to learn more about the lending library and get involved.

The organizers of the lending library want people to take advantage of City Forest Day, which is Saturday, Oct. 4. It's a day of action, celebration, and education about NYC's urban forest.

Click here to learn more about City Forest Day and find an event near you.

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