Joseph Beuys Tree Partnership

Joseph Beuys Tree Partnership. , The trees of Carroll Park are a treasured legacy. In 1888 The Baltimore Park Commission purchased the first 20 acres surrounding Mount Claire Mansion for Carroll Park and began planting trees "in great numbers." By 1900 the park was 64 acres and the Commission planted trees about 200 trees per year , a nursery on-site provided the stock. For a century, the trees thrived. During the 1900's however, the park lost a third of its trees due to severe storms as well as declining resources for planting and caring for park trees., Joseph Beuys Tree Partnership was inspired by the German visual artist Joseph Beuys' 7000 Oaks tree planting project, a visionary program that transformed the city of Kassel, Germany, with the planting of 7000 oak trees between 1982 and 1987. After the trees were planted, a stone was placed next to each tree. Beuys called this project a social sculpture, the process of collaboration between artists and citizens to create environmental art beneficial to the urban community., The Joseph Beuys Tree Partnership brought the promise of a new way of collaborating to sustain park trees. Citizens and non-profit partners worked together with the Department of Recreation and Parks to replace some of the lost tree canopy of Carroll Park. On October 28, 2000, over 250 people from the neighborhood planted 100 trees. With this kind of community investment the trees of Carroll Park will thrive for future generations., This project is organized by the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, UMBC in partnership with the Department of Recreation and Parks and over 20 organizations within the city of Baltimore. Funding for the Joseph Beuys Tree Partnership comes from the TKF Foundation, Annapolis, MD.