Brooklyn, NY
Amount granted: $30,000
Grant year: 2026
Grant category: Education
$30,000 to support the Elementary School Workshop Series for the 2025-2026 school year as well as assistance with capital expenses to preserve the original building headquarters.
Magnolia Tree Earth Center of Bedford Stuyvesant, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Hattie Carthan, a visionary environmentalist who sought to protect a rare Magnolia Grandiflora tree and three brownstones on Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn from demolition. Ms. Carthan mobilized her community to save and preserve the site, ultimately achieving landmark status for both the buildings and the tree — now recognized as New York State’s only living landmark. Her leadership inspired urban greening efforts long before environmentalism was mainstream, planting over 1,500 trees in the neighborhood and establishing the Tree Corps to care for local greenery.