The plan calls for 300,000 new trees to be planted in Philly by 2015. (Photo courtesy Greenworks Philadelphia)
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) announced an exciting new environmental initiative yesterday at the Philadelphia International Flower Show called “Plant One Million.”
An ambitious effort to add one million trees in the 13 counties covering southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, Plant One Million will mobilize volunteers throughout the tri-state region to “plant, count and tend” trees. PHS will lead the campaign, in partnership with local governments, corporate sponsors, organizations, schools, civic groups and residents in order to reach the 1,000,000 tree goal.
The goal of Plant One Million is to restore the region’s “tree canopy cover” — the area of land shaded by trees — to 30%. (The City of Philadelphia’s tree coverage is currently only at 16%. For a more detailed look at the city’s tree cover, see the infographic below.)
The Plant One Million campaign is working with the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability’s Greenworks Philadelphia program, which targets adding 300,000 new trees to Philadelphia by 2015. The other 700,000 will be added to the surrounding counties.
From the start of his administration, Philadelphia’s Mayor Michael Nutter declared his strong support for increasing the city’s tree canopy and it has a central place in his shared vision of Philadelphia becoming America’s greenest city. The City’s Greenworks target is 300,000 new trees by 2015, in order to help increase the city’s tree cover to 30 percent by 2025. PHS will support the city’s goal by collaborating with private and institutional land owners through direct action and incentive programs.
The Immense Benefits of Trees
Besides beautifying streets and neighborhoods, increasing trees in an urban setting has serious advantages. Added benefits of an enhanced tree population include: significantly improving the quality of air that we breathe — the US Forest Service estimates that 100 trees remove 1.2 tons of CO2 per year and 130 pounds of other pollutants; reducing home air-conditioning costs by as much as 30%; adding an additional 10% to property value per large tree on your lawn; improving people’s physical health and preventing flooding by capturing rainwater and filtering out impurities.
Interested in participating? PHS’s Tree Tenders® program, $25, offers nine hours of hands-on tree care training, covering tree biology, identification, planting, proper care and working within your community. Plus, click here to see upcoming PHS events to join in tree-tending or -planting in communities around the region.
Starting April 1, click here for the PHS tree counter, which will be continuously update the progress towards the 1,000,000 goal.
Below, check out a infographic of the current level of tree cover in the different sections of Philadelphia. For example, while Chestnut Hill has a tree cover of 38%, Center City has a tree cover of only 2%.
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