To raise awareness for Tree Equity, Bulleit plants trees with American Forests and NYC Parks’ Tree Time, and unveils an Ecosystem Restoration mural with Street Art for Mankind in support of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration led by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — To celebrate Bourbon Heritage Month, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey and American Forests brought their Tree Equity commitment to New York City with a vital tree planting. Bulleit also continued its partnership with Street Art for Mankind, in support of the United Nations Environment Programme, by creating a colorful, 3D, 12,800 square foot mural on the side of the Javits Center in their pledge to restore ecosystems and raise awareness for the critical need for Ecosystem Restoration as part of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
After a successful event in Houston earlier this year, Bulleit is honored to continue its longtime, community-first approach by supporting Tree Equity improvement efforts in New York. As a city that emphasizes fair access to greenspaces, New York is a significant location for Bulleit and American Forests to continue their critical work.
Disadvantaged communities across the US have historically suffered the most from unequal access to trees, and the heat-reducing shade, fresh air, and climate resiliency that they provide. Tree Time, a program of NYC Parks and the City Parks Foundation, and American Forests used their tools to identify an area on Laurel Hill Boulevard that, due to its proximity to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, the Long Island Expressway, and the industrial activity for the past 150 years, desperately needed trees to help purify the air and provide shade to local residents.
“At the end of the hottest summer in recorded history, it is clear that achieving Tree Equity in US cities is urgently needed to bring the life-saving natural cooling and clean air that trees provide to every neighborhood,” said Jad Daley, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Forests. “Here in New York City, for example, we can achieve Tree Equity with an additional 1.7 million trees in the right places. Our powerful partnership with Bulleit is advancing Tree Equity in New York City and using art to inspire us toward a better future.”
In addition to the planting, Bulleit and Street Art for Mankind worked with artist, Carlos Alberto, to create the mural that aims to inspire the community to become agents of environmental change. A hub for artists, New York is the ideal location for a mural of this size and importance. The mural was unveiled today, during Climate Week NYC, with a public ceremony.
“The growth of our partnership with American Forests over the past three years is a testament to our commitment to creating real change,” said Jesse Damashek, Senior Vice President of Whiskies & Liqueurs at Diageo. “The Tree Equity plantings we do are extremely impactful and important to the local communities we serve, and with Street Art for Mankind, we’re able to bring critical attention to these efforts, and the broader need for global Ecosystem Restoration. The Ecosystem Restoration murals that Street Art creates do a masterful job of promoting this important work, as well as inspiring people to be drivers of environmental change.”
In support of the United Nations Environment Programme, a part of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Street Art for Mankind created the Ecosystem Restoration Murals Project. Through this project, Bulleit is supporting the creation of five ecosystem restoration murals across the US. To create the mural in New York City, Street Art for Mankind partnered with Carlos Alberto. A street artist from Mexico, Carlos loves nature and uses 3D effects to bring his art to life.
On the side of the city’s largest convention center, the Javits Center, Carlos created the mural in only 10 days. Carlos explained that his design features a woman hugging a tree to signify that she wants there to be more of them in her neighborhood. The woman is surrounded by the jungle, reminding viewers that, even in the “concrete jungle,” communities need trees and nature. The mural also makes a reference to biodiversity with plants and animals from New York state, and from around the world. On the left you will find extinct and endangered plants and animals, and on the right you can see recovering species, reflecting the challenge and the hope that comes from global ecosystem restoration efforts. Kicking-off Climate Week NYC, this mural will serve as a vivid reminder of the critical need for global ecosystem restoration.
“We are thrilled to be back in our home base of New York and to create this huge mural in the concrete jungle of Manhattan,” said Audrey and Thibault Decker, Co-Founders of Street Art for Mankind. “With this big statement, we wanted to pay tribute to nature and people, as they both pay the price of climate change. We sincerely hope that our art will inspire generations of passers-by to do their share and act for climate. We are very grateful for the journey we are on, painting murals across the world, and also honored to be given such a meaningful platform for Climate Week and the UNGA. Thank you to all our friends from UNEP, FAO, the Javits Center, the Nest Campus, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, New York State and New York City for uniting together to make this all happen. Nature needs us all. And we need nature everywhere, for everybody!”
The public can scan the mural for an audio guide using a free mobile app called “Behind the Wall®”, published by SAM on Playstore and the Appstore. The app allows people to discover the story behind Ecosystem Restoration, hear officials talk about the issue, and listen to Carlos talk about his creation.
ABOUT BULLEIT FRONTIER WHISKEY
Bulleit, founded in 1987, is one of the fastest-growing whiskeys in America. The brand attributes that growth to bartenders and cultural partners who have adopted it as their own. The Bulleit Frontier Whiskey portfolio is distilled and aged in the Bulleit family tradition, using a distinctive high rye recipe, which gives them a bold, spicy, yet distinctively smooth taste. The award-winning Kentucky whiskey most recently won a Double Gold medal for Bulleit 10 Year Old and Gold Medals for Bulleit Bourbon and Bulleit Rye at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. In 2017, Bulleit celebrated its 30th anniversary with the opening of a new, state-of-the-art distillery located in Shelbyville, KY, constructed with a focus on sustainable practices including natural habitat protection, water conservation and local ingredient sourcing. In 2019, a Visitor’s Centre at the Bulleit Distilling Co. in Shelbyville opened to share our modern, technological and sustainable approach to making great whiskey. In 2021, Diageo opened its first carbon neutral whiskey distillery in Lebanon, KY with Bulleit being the first and leading brand being produced at the site. supplementing existing production at the Bulleit Distilling Co. For more information, visit www.bulleit.com or follow @Bulleit on Instagram.
ABOUT DIAGEO
Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan’s whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Casamigos, DeLeon and Don Julio tequilas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Tanqueray and Guinness.
Diageo is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: DGE) and their products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. For more information about Diageo, their people, brands, and performance, visit www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo’s global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice.
Follow on Twitter and Instagram for news and information about Diageo North America: @Diageo_NA.
ABOUT AMERICAN FORESTS
American Forests is driven by the power of forests. They are instrumental to addressing two of the most pressing issues of the day: slowing climate change and advancing social equity. Forests also provide habitat for wildlife and a clean, abundant supply of water for people. Since our founding in 1875, American Forests has been the pathfinders for creating healthy forests from coast to coast. For example, we championed creation of the U.S. Forest Service and have persuaded Congress to provide stable funding for fighting and preventing forest fires. Our deep knowledge of forests and track record of collaboration position us to build a reforestation movement in America.
From cities to large natural landscapes, we create healthy and resilient forests that deliver essential benefits for climate, people, water and wildlife. We advance our mission through forestry innovation, place-based partnerships to plant and restore forests, and movement building. American Forests envisions a world in which the significant environmental, societal, and economic benefits of forests are fully realized and equitably available to all people. To learn more about American Forests, visit www.americanforests.org
ABOUT STREET ART FOR MANKIND
Street Art for Mankind (SAM) is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization working with prominent street artists to create large murals all around the world. Its goal is to raise awareness on social justice and environmental issues, and to give the public the means to become actors of change. SAM is recognized for its mural series with the United Nations, the Department of State, but also for its Art Walk Murals with Cities across the world to bond communities together, create a sense of belonging and increase foot traffic. Learn more at StreetArtMankind.org.
ABOUT THE UN DECADE ON ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 is a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems across the world, for the benefit of people and nature. It aims to halt the degradation of ecosystems and restore them to achieve global goals. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the UN Decade, which is led by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The UN Decade is building a strong, broad-based global movement to ramp up restoration and put the world on track for a sustainable future.
https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/
ABOUT NYC PARKS TREE TIME
Tree Time, a program of the NYC Parks and the City Parks Foundation, was established in 1994 to protect, preserve, and enhance New York City’s street, park and forest trees. The goals of Tree Time are to foster public-private partnerships in urban forestry, raise public awareness of the importance of urban forestry conservation and stewardship, promote new technologies to enhance tree survival and advance innovative management tools, and revitalize historically and arboreally significant municipal trees.
Donations to Tree Time enable the installation of tree guards, tree planting, and sidewalk repair. nyctreetime.org
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