1. Trees in New York City By Colin Kleinert

2. Trees I chose to write about trees because when I was younger me and my Grandpa used to go to Central Park and collect tree leaves, and we put them in a book that has all the leaves that me and my grandpa collected over the years. This helped me with my topic because I know where the really good places to look for trees are now. Also I discovered every type of tree in New York City so now I know a lot of the different types of trees I could talk about in my photo essay. For example, I know about oak trees, maple trees, pagoda from Japan and cherry blossoms. People need trees to survive because they have oxygen that we need to breathe. Trees also create shade for people, they are used to make fires and some even have fruit like apple trees which give you good vitamins. When I was taking photos of trees for my photo essay I noticed different types of bark. There is rough bark on elm trees, smooth bark found on cherry blossoms and maple trees. I also thought about how important wood is for so many different things. People use wood a lot. Wood is very important to people because it is used for so many things. For example people use bark to build houses, make fires, build log cabins, and build fences. It is also used to play sports because wood is used to make baseball bats. I think it’s good and bad. It’s not good because a lot of animals live in trees and if you cut down the bark it’s not good for the tree and takes away animals’ habitats. It’s good because people use it for so many things. We need wood to live.

3. Oak Tree

4. Pine Tree

5. Maple Tree

6. Trees can grow to be different sizes. This is a tall skinny tree.

7. Trees need sunlight to grow and live.

8. A sign in Central Park describing an American Elm tree. These signs provide information for tree watchers and other Central Park visitors.

9. Humans also need trees. They get shade from trees especially when they are relaxing in the park during the summer.

10. Trees have different types of leaves. This tree has needlelike leaves

11. Green Leaves

12. A close up of a red-leaved tree

13. A red leaved tree from a distance

14. Trees have bark with different textures. This tree has rough bark.

15. More bumpy bark on a tree

16. This tree has smooth bark