Arborists and geneticists are collaborating on a project to bring 1 million new trees to New York's gritty streets by 2016. They won't be entirely new, though, Newsday reports. Cuttings will be taken from several species in Central Park, then shipped to an Oregon lab where they will be cloned, raised, and ultimately returned to the five boroughs.
Parks officials chose nine tree species—including the European beech, a Central Park staple with soft bark that's perfect for carving initials—for their "historical and environmental significance," the department said. "We see this cloning effort as a really great way to bring historic trees to every neighborhood in the city," said the director of the New York Restoration Project.