Pittsburgh, Pa. – April 16, 2025 – Pittsburgh’s residents and visitors are seeing a flourish of pink blooms right now along trails, hillsides, parks and open spaces in view of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers around downtown Pittsburgh and near Point State Park. That is thanks to the Pittsburgh Redbud Project, an initiative of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, to help reforest the City of Pittsburgh’s riverfronts with native trees and shrubs.
The project began in 2016 with the planting of 60 redbud trees along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail near Heinz Field. Since the project launched, the Conservancy, along with its volunteers and partners, have planted 3,770 trees, 1,804 shrubs and 9,442 perennials and grasses as part of the project.
Although the native Eastern redbud is the predominant tree planted for the project, with 1,531 redbuds planted to date, cherry, birch, spruce, hophornbeam and hawthorn are among the complementary species bringing natural color and wildlife habitat to the riverfronts.
Trees were planted during the spring and fall planting seasons through 2021 along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail near the Carnegie Science Center, Heinz Field and PNC Park, and along River Avenue on the North Shore Riverfront Trail. In downtown Pittsburgh, several redbud trees line the entryway to Point State Park, Gateway Islands median, and along Grant Street.
Frank Curto, Grandview and West End Overlook parks also now have redbud and other trees in addition to locations on Allegheny Landing, at Station Square and along West Carson Street.
Jeff Bergman, the Conservancy’s associate vice president of urban forestry and community greening, says the project is helping to beautify and reforest these highly visible areas and encourages the public to visit these locations to see the vibrant blooms of the redbuds.
“The thousands of new native trees and vegetation will also help 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 just continue to enhance the city’s tree canopy year after year as the trees 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, and was funded by Colcom Foundation.
“The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has helped make Pittsburgh a springtime destination to celebrate the spectacular redbud blooms,” says Colcom Foundation President and Chief Investment Officer John Barsotti. He added that Colcom Foundation has continued to support the Conservancy’s efforts to plant trees along the three rivers in Pittsburgh.
###
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 290,000 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 130 community gardens and other green spaces 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
412-608-3617-cell
cbray@paconserve.org