PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — One of the biggest obstacles to Philadelphia’s effort to increase its tree canopy is the city itself. That’s according to testimony at a City Council committee hearing Wednesday on the “Philly Tree Plan.”
The Philly Tree Plan is a 10-year strategy to grow the urban forest. Its ultimate goals are to mitigate climate change, improve health and safety and to correct historic injustices that leave the lowest-income neighborhoods with the fewest trees
Just two years in, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Susan Slawson says the plan has led to the planting of 3,724 trees, with half of the yard trees installed in the starkest, most vulnerable neighborhoods.
“Green space is an oasis in areas where the city is densely built,” Slawson told the committee, “and the tree canopy supports areas that have been identified as heat islands.”
However, there’s been a major setback. Six months ago, the city celebrated a $12 million federal grant for the plan. That’s been halted.
Another roadblock to more trees are residents who resist new trees because of the maintenance burden, according to Temple University professor Hamil Pearsall.
“While many residents can get a yard or street tree for free and have an enthusiastic team help them plant it, residents are often the ones caring for the tree over the next several decades,” he testified.
“Residents want to understand what kinds of costs they’re assuming for watering and pruning their tree. They’re concerned about their liability in the event of a tree falling on a neighbor’s property.”
Volunteer Cath McManus recalled being stopped by the pastor as she planted trees near a church. “He hadn’t requested the trees. He didn’t want them. ‘Take them out,’ he yelled. He didn’t say it. He definitely yelled it.”
And several witnesses, like Hal Rosner, testified that the city itself had done the most damage to the tree canopy by cutting down trees in FDR Park or allowing their removal by developers.
“The effort to preserve canopy and save trees at FDR failed,” said Rosner. “FDR must never happen again.”
Witnesses recommended education and help with tree maintenance. They also urged changes in the city’s own policies that allow tree removal for development.