“Green Philly, Grow Philly”
Tree Campaign Begins in Philadelphia
WHAT: Kick-off of a major tree-planting campaign in the City of Philadelphia, led by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the Department of Parks and Recreation.
WHEN: Saturday, April 24
Press conference: 9:30 a.m.
Tree plantings: 10 to 11 a.m.
WHO: Drew Becher, President-elect, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
Mayor Michael A. Nutter
Michael DiBerardinis, Commissioner of Parks and Recreation
Penelope Giles, President, Francisville Neighborhood Development Corp.
WHERE: Francisville Recreation Center, 18th and Francis Sts. (1737 Francis St.)
DETAILS: A wide-ranging effort to increase the tree canopy of Philadelphia gets under way April 24. Corporate citizens, organizations, institutions and residents will be called on to join this campaign, which will improve the city’s environment, health, quality of life, and economy.
Mayor Nutter has set a goal of planting 300,000 trees in the city by 2015, and the April 24 event will kick off that campaign. The new Department of Parks and Recreation, led by Commissioner DiBerardinis, will implement the tree-planting program, which officially launches in the fall.
Community groups trained by the PHS Tree Tenders program are planting 1,000 trees in neighborhoods throughout the city this month, including 47 trees in Francisville. These plantings are being led by PHS with a $1.65 million grant through Pennvest, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. PHS will plant a total of 8,000 trees in Southeastern Pennsylvania through this grant. The new leader of PHS, Drew Becher, directed the New York Restoration Project and its MillionTreesNYC campaign.
PlanPhilly: Planning Philadelphia's Future