As the saying goes, the best time to plant a tree was yesterday. Tree time and people time are different and in the decades of growth that an oak needs to reach its full size, humans age out or move on. That makes planting a hopeful cast for future generations to enjoy the benefits of a maple or white pine.

As the window closes to avert the worst effects of climate change, any day is a good day to plant a tree. Trees offer shade and cooling, clean the air and store a lot of carbon. They are critical parts of our ecosystems. Recognizing their role in mitigating global warming, the state's 25 Million Trees by 2033 initiative is part of New York's goal to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Using a tracker developed by the Department of Environmental Conservation, you can add your tree plantings to a statewide map at dub.sh/tree-tracker. There aren't any reports of new trees in Putnam County and only three reports for 18 trees around Beacon. But it's new! Give us time.

Annabel Gregg is the program coordinator at the DEC. Her job is to coordinate public and private efforts to fill gaps and get people excited about planting trees.

Why 25 million trees?

It begins with the Climate Action Plan of 2019. To reach carbon neutrality by 2050, the scoping plan sets out to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 85 percent and sequester 15 percent using trees and forests. To hit that goal, we need to establish 1.7 million acres of new forest by 2040. The reforestation plan is nearly final and Gov. [Kathy] Hochul wanted to get us started. That's why the 25 million trees by 2033 launched last year. We need to scale up and do it fast.

How does the tree tracker fit into this?

We launched it a month ago, so we're still adding data from 2024. We can use the tracker to measure progress. With Arbor Day coming on April 25, it's a great time to celebrate trees. There will be a lot of planting events. By this time next year, we can tell how well the tracker has integrated into what people are doing and make this part of the norm.

How is tree loss accounted for?

New York is 62 percent forested. The U.S. Forest Service conducts an inventory every five to seven years. New York state lost 1 percent of its forest cover between 2017 and 2022, the year of the most recent survey. [Pamela's note: The inventory lists Putnam County with 76 percent cover and Dutchess County with 53 percent. Throughout the state, 73 percent of forested land is in private hands. See dub.sh/forest-inventory.]

Are there new approaches to reach the goal? I'm wondering about the dense plantings pioneered by Japanese forest ecologist Akira Miyawaki.

We're setting up the first pilot project of a Miyawaki forest at the Five Rivers Education Center in Delmar [near Albany]. We're hoping that kids who come to the project will see all these species in a small space. We're studying the best reforestation and afforestation [planting where there has been no recent covering] strategies and there are programs like Regenerate New York for landowners to support things like slash walls [made of logs to protect young trees from deer].

Sources for trees

The Tree Tracker explains how to plant trees and has a calendar of tree-planting events. Until Saturday (March 15), the Butterfield library in Cold Spring and the Desmond-Fish library in Garrison are offering free seedlings to children. Sign up at their websites. Beacon residents can purchase any of six species through the city at a discount. See dub.sh/beacon-trees.

The deadline to order discounted seedlings from the DEC is May 14. For example, it offers 25 red-oak seedlings for $30. If you can't plant them all, consider sharing an order with friends or donating some. But act quickly because many varieties are already sold out. See dub.sh/DEC-trees.