Maya Lin installs Ghost Forest of dead trees in Downtown Manhattan Artist and designer Maya Lin has installed 49 dead cedar trees in Downtown Manhattan's Madison Square Park to raise awareness of ecosystem die-off due to climate change. Called Ghost Forest, the project was commissioned by Madison Square Park Conservancy. The dead Atlantic white cedar trees have been erected on The Oval Lawn of the park. Ghost Forest is an installation of dead cedar trees Lin transported the ghostly trees from where they were felled in the New Jersey Pine Barrens to draw attention to deforestation caused by climate change. "I wanted to bring a ghost forest to the heart of Manhattan, and find trees that were as close to Manhattan as I could possibly source," explained Lin.