PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) —The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is joining forces with PECO and the community, planting hundreds of trees around the city starting Friday.
Dan Preziosi, director of trees at PHS, joined dozens of volunteers at the tree unloading event, where they offloaded over 900 trees and prepared them for planting this weekend.
“Yes, this is just the beginning,” said Preziosi. “It’s the biggest part of the whole operation, where the trees come out, get checked, and we make sure they’re healthy and that they’re looking good and staged in the right areas.”
Connor Coleman, with PECO, checked the trees to ensure they were in good shape. He expressed that the event was about promoting greener communities but also had a preemptive purpose.
“PECO does a lot of work with vegetation management around the lines, and we like to plant these in great spots that are not near the power lines”, he said.
David Velazquez, PECO president and CEO, said it’s just the right thing to do.
“With all the work we have to do in the communities, it’s great to plant trees to replace the ones we have to take down,” said the CEO.
Those interested in volunteering can sign up on the PHS website.