FOR TREE CLIMBING

STUYVESANT SQUARE PARK, Rutherford Pl. and E. 15th St. there’s no actual playground equipment in

Stuyvesant Square Park, a scenic spot with picturesque flower beds and plenty of paved walking paths that spans East 15th to 17th Streets, but it’s still educator Jane Racoosin’s favorite place to bring her students. “It’s our go-to spot,” says Racoosin, the director of Beginnings Nursery School, which encourages children to interact with their environment. Children often clamber up the park’s many trees, including an English elm near the western gate that the Parks Department suggests may have been there since the early 1800s. In the warmer months, vibrant tulips and a host of wildflowers are great fodder for budding naturalists to observe and draw, says Racoosin. There are also circular fountains to run laps around.