PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Hundreds of Pennsylvania Horticultural Society volunteers are helping to plant nearly 2,000 trees throughout the Philadelphia region through Sunday, in an effort to improve the city’s tree canopy.
PHS organizes the Tree Tenders program every spring and fall, to help improve tree canopy coverage, which is the area of land shaded by trees. “We work all over the region of Southeastern Pennsylvania and we work with communities and neighborhoods so that residents can plant and care for trees in their own neighborhoods,” said Tim Ifill, PHS’ director of trees.
“We know that trees and living around trees [are] really important for people's health and well-being. So we invest a lot of time in growing the canopy in all different neighborhoods in the Philadelphia area.”
Ifill says, while they have trained thousands of volunteers in tree-planting efforts over the last 30 years, no experience is necessary for tree-planting weekends. “Anyone can sign up to take part in the planting,” he said. “We have a map on the PHS website that you can find a planting near you or one that may need extra volunteers.”
According to PHS, while a healthy tree canopy is generally regarded as over 30% coverage, Philadelphia averages only 20%. Some city neighborhoods have as little as 2.5% tree coverage.
PHS will also be involved in the city’s first-ever urban forest strategic plan, focused on equity and sustainability. The USDA Forest Service recently announced a $12 million federal grant to help implement the Philly Tree Plan.