PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Hundreds of trees are being planted in Philadelphia and across the region this month as part of a Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) initiative to build healthier communities.
Next week, PHS will receive a shipment of 1,400 trees.
“All of our trees will be coming into our distribution site in South Philadelphia,” said Tim Ifill, PHS director of trees.
Ifill said volunteers from 82 community groups that partner with PHS will then pick up the trees and take them back to their neighborhoods to plant them in designated locations.
He says as part of the initiative, neighbors have been assigned as tree caretakers.
“Those first two years or so are a real critical period for young trees. And they do need a lot of establishment care. So a lot of our trees are going to individual residences as street trees, and we ask those tree recipients — they're getting a free tree — we asked them to be responsible for watering the tree and keeping the planting site weed free and mulched.”
The planting process begins next week, but they’ve been preparing for this step for about six months, Ifill said.
“In Philadelphia itself, we have to get every tree permitted. We also pay for contractors to remove [concrete] from the sidewalk to create tree pits where they're needed. So that does take a lot of prep work.”
He says there are a lot of benefits to having a healthy urban tree canopy, including improved mental health — but beyond that, Ifill said, trees help also keep neighborhoods cool in the summer and provide improved air quality.
“You know, with all that surface area of leaves that are breathing in and breathing out air, they’re really good at filtering several different kinds of pollution that are very prominent in urban areas, including particulate matter.”
Volunteers are needed for this and other planting events. Anyone who wants to help plant trees throughout the spring can sign up on the PHS website to help.
“No experience is required,” Ifill said.
In addition to the efforts of PHS, the City of Philadelphia is working on its own 10-year strategic plan for the planting and care of the urban tree canopy.
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