Want to help make Philly greener? This big spring tree planting is coming up

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Volunteers plan to plant over 900 trees in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs later this month as part of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s biannual tree planting.

They’ll put saplings in the ground in Philadelphia neighborhoods including Nicetown, Point Breeze and Mount Airy — as well as nearby Abington and Gladwyne.

“Our mission is to improve the quality of life for the people of Philadelphia and the surrounding areas through horticulture,” said Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Trees Director Daniel Preziosi. “Areas that invest in greening their neighborhoods provide a much better quality of life for their residents.”

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society holds tree plantings each April and November in partnership with its largely volunteer-run Tree Tenders groups. The network is working alongside the city to reverse a trend of tree loss and correct disparities in tree cover that contribute to wide gaps in temperature between Philly neighborhoods on hot summer days.

“Hunting Park is one of Philadelphia’s hottest neighborhoods,” Morgan Doyle, program manager for environmental initiatives at Esperanza, wrote in an email. “This is due in large part to a lack of tree canopy and too many dark, impervious surfaces that retain heat. Trees clean the air, provide shade for residents, and in large numbers can help cool the neighborhood.”

Formerly redlined neighborhoods like Hunting Park currently have the lowest tree canopy, according to the city. Hunting Park has around 9% tree canopy coverage, Doyle said, compared to around 20% on average citywide.

Esperanza’s Tree Tenders group is still looking for volunteers to help plant 15 trees April 12. Current volunteer opportunities are listed on the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s website.

“Come out and help fight extreme heat in Hunting Park,” Doyle said. “We’ll have empanadas!”

Most of the trees planted this month will end up along streets. Some will go in yards or community spaces, such as the Strawberry Mansion high School.

In East Falls, volunteers plan to replace older trees that are dying with new saplings. East Falls Tree Tenders Deputy Coordinator Edward Ruback said trees provide cooling shade, habitat for animals and beauty. They also help absorb stormwater runoff.

“We’re in a hilly area, so the water runs right down to the Schuylkill River,” he said. “It’s an important factor in absorbing some of the rain that comes down.”

President Donald Trump’s administration has cut some federal funding for tree planting, including a grant to Bartram’s Garden to pay high school students to plant trees in Southwest Philadelphia and a nationwide program to plant trees in neighborhoods that need them.

A $12 million federal grant to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and other organizations to help implement the Philly Tree Plan was temporarily frozen. The primary recipient of that grant, the Public Health Management Corporation, now has access to that funding again, spokesperson Adel Johnson said Wednesday.

“This is not going to slow down or deter any of our biannual tree distribution efforts,” Preziosi said.

The trees planted this month are driven by requests from residents. Preziosi estimates less than half of the trees planted this month will be planted in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods. Preziosi encourages everyone to apply for a tree. 

“We have yet to ever meet our capacity, and we’re always looking to upscale as much as we can,” he said.