Pittsburgh, PA – April 13, 2026 – Residents and visitors to Pittsburgh are beginning to see a display of fuchsia and pink blooms along trails, hillsides, parks and open spaces in view of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers around downtown Pittsburgh, on the North Shore and near Point State Park.
That is thanks to the Pittsburgh Redbud Project, an initiative the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy started 10 years ago to help reforest the city’s riverfronts with native trees and shrubs. The Conservancy is celebrating the 10th anniversary of this habitat restoration and beautification initiative, funded by Colcom Foundation.
The Pittsburgh Redbud Project began with the planting of 60 Eastern redbud trees along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail near Heinz Field, now Acrisure Stadium. Since then, the Conservancy, along with its volunteers and partners, has planted a total of 3,770 trees over 10 spring and fall planting seasons along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail near the Carnegie Science Center, Acrisure Stadium and PNC Park, and on River Avenue along the North Shore Riverfront Trail, among other locations, as part of the project. In downtown Pittsburgh, several redbud trees line Point State Park, the Gateway Islands median and along Grant Street.
Grandview, West End Overlook and Frank Curto parks also now have Eastern redbud and other native trees in addition to locations on Allegheny Landing, at Station Square and along West Carson Street.
Although the native Eastern redbud is the dominant tree species planted for the project, with 1,531 redbuds planted to date, cherry, birch, spruce, hophornbeam and hawthorn are among the complementary tree species bringing natural color and wildlife habitat to the riverfronts.
Jeff Bergman, the Conservancy’s associate vice president of urban forestry and community greening, says the 10-year project has already made an ecological and beautification impact.
“We’ve planted thousands of native trees and vegetation to reforest the riverfronts, reduce the amount of stormwater runoff and pollutants entering the rivers, improve habitat for wildlife and help decrease air pollution,” says Bergman. “These benefits will only continue to enhance as the trees grow and become more established.”
The project idea was developed by Frank Dawson, a landscape architect who was inspired by the natural beauty of the redbud tree, downtown Pittsburgh and the popular cherry blossoms in Washington, DC. Pittsburgh Redbud Project partners include Riverlife and the City of Pittsburgh.
“Ten years ago, Colcom Foundation was proud to help launch what we hoped would become a signature feature of Pittsburgh’s springtime landscape. What the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and its partners have built along our three rivers—thousands of native trees rooted in the soil of this city—is a lasting testament to what thoughtful, long-term investment in nature can accomplish. As the redbuds come into bloom each April, we’re reminded that beautifying a city and restoring its ecology are not competing goals. Here in Pittsburgh, they are one and the same,” says Colcom Foundation President John Barsotti.
Bergman adds that the Conservancy is partnering with VisitPITTSBURGH to highlight the blooms and make Pittsburgh a springtime destination to celebrate the spectacular Eastern redbud blooms, especially this year if the blooms last through the NFL Draft, April 23-25, 2026.
VisitPITTSBURGH has created a blog, Insider’s Guide: Pittsburgh Redbuds, to help champion the importance and beauty of the trees with tourists and residents. The blog also includes a user-friendly map highlighting where visitors can find blooming trees in close proximity to hotels and attractions.
To learn more about the Pittsburgh Redbud Project, the public is encouraged to visit WaterLandLife.org/Redbuds.
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About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC has helped establish 11 state parks, conserved more than a quarter million acres of natural lands, protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams, and assessed thousands of wildlife species and their habitats. The Conservancy owns and operates Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 125 community gardens and other green spaces and thousands of trees that are planted with the help of more than 7,000 volunteers. The work of the Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 10,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org or Fallingwater.org.
Media Contact:
Carmen Bray
Senior Director of Communications
412-586-2358, work
[email protected]