Free trees being distributed to University homeowners

Penn has partnered with the city’s Parks & Recreation Department to distribute 300 free trees to faculty and staff homeowners who own a home within the Philadelphia city limits to plant on their property. The trees in this “Creating Canopy with Penn” pilot giveaway will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Qualified Penn employees interested in obtaining a tree should pre-register by Thursday, March 24, at http://www.upenn.edu/sustainability/treegiveaway.html, where information on tree planting and caring is also available.

Pre-registered participants can join Penn President Amy Gutmann, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and other members of the campus community at the Tree Giveaway Event at 1 p.m. on College Green on Thursday, March 31, to pick up their trees. Homeowners unable to collect their trees at that time can do so between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, at High Line Field, east of the Left Bank building, on the lower level of 31st and Walnut Streets.

Mayor Nutter has long supported increasing the city’s tree canopy, a central theme in his Greenworks campaign to make Philadelphia the greenest city in America. His goal is to plant 300,000 new trees in the city by 2015. To achieve this very ambitious target, the city will have to increase its own tree planting activities and work with numerous partners under a new tree planting model in which everyone has a role to play. This role includes citizens, neighborhoods, institutions, corporations, and the city government all coming together in innovative ways.

The University is already a leader in promoting environmental sustainability – including the importance of green space and tree canopy – so taking this next step to partner in this new tree planting model seemed palpable. Penn has plans to plant more than 1,700 trees by 2015. Our sponsorship of this program will make a great impact on our campus and city in expanding our environmental outreach and working towards our sustainability goals.

Reserve your tree today! For more information on Penn’s sustainability efforts, visit http://www.upenn.edu/sustainability.