Riverside Park Will Host Annual Mulchfest Event This Weekend

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The Riverside Park Conservancy is hosting one of the 35 city-wide Mulchfest events this weekend on the Upper West Side.

Mulchfest is held every January as a way for New Yorkers to mindfully discard their Christmas trees and to transform the trees into pine mulch.

The mulch is then used in tree pits and in garden beds throughout the parks, and volunteers are encouraged to take some home with them as well.

You have until Saturday to drop your tree anywhere from 72nd to 152nd Streets on Riverside Drive for it to be picked up by Conservancy staff or NYC Parks Forestry.

The UWS Mulchfest event will take place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 83rd Street in Riverside Park.

The Conservancy says a special guest who "is traditionally no fan of the season" will be joining the volunteer corps as they work to tree-cycle the thousands of Christmas trees.

The special guest is never identified, but Patch's best guess is that the Grinch or Scrooge will be making an appearance at Riverside Park Mulchfest.

"Let's take this opportunity to return these trees back to the earth," Dan Garodnick, President and CEO of Riverside Park Conservancy, said in a news release. "Let's mulch-out, and beat last year's count in the process."

Volunteer capacity is limited, and masks are required. You can register to be a volunteer here.

The event will take place again next Saturday on Jan. 15.