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TreeVitalize Pittsburgh Celebrates 25,000 Trees Planted in Allegheny County With Dedication Ceremony
WHAT: TreeVitalize Pittsburgh and its partners invite the public to celebrate the planting of 25,000 trees in the Pittsburgh area since the program began in 2008. With the help of volunteers, TreeVitalize will plant the ceremonial 25,000th tree in Troy Hill, along with 15 other trees. City, state and county representatives have been invited to attend the planting.
A joint project of Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, Pa. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Tree Pittsburgh and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, TreeVitalize Pittsburgh plants trees in its effort to increase the city’s tree cover and biodiversity, improve air quality and the environment, and enhance the quality of life in the Pittsburgh region.
WHEN: Friday, November 13, 2015
Tree plantings will begin at 2 p.m. The 25,000th tree dedication will take place from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: Volunteers will meet at 1729 Lowrie Street in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood. The dedication will take place at 1720 Lowrie Street.
WHO: TreeVitalize Pittsburgh
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC)
Tree Pittsburgh
Pa. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)
Pittsburgh Shade Tree Commission (PSTC)
Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto, State Representative Adam Ravenstahl, State Senator Wayne Fontana and other special guests have been invited to join WPC and partners to celebrate the planting of TreeVitalize Pittsburgh’s 25,000th tree.
WHY: Since its launch in the spring of 2008, TreeVitalize Pittsburgh has planted just under 25,000 trees in neighborhoods, parks, business districts and along trails throughout the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. In total, TreeVitalize has provided trees to 72 Pittsburgh neighborhoods and 36 Allegheny County municipalities, with the help of nearly 11,000 volunteers who have contributed 31,440 hours of service to tree plantings. This work has been made possible with significant private support from foundations in the region, including the Heinz Endowments, Colcom Foundation, the Richard King Mellon Foundation and Alcoa Foundation.
To celebrate this achievement, TreeVitalize staff and partners will plant the 25,000th tree in Troy Hill. The ceremony will include remarks from Martha Isler, chair of the Pittsburgh Shade Tree Commission, and Tom Saunders, president and CEO of WPC. Mayor Bill Peduto, State Senator Wayne Fontana and State Representative Adam Ravenstahl are invited speakers.
“The completion of 25,000 tree plantings in the Pittsburgh region is helping us reach our tree cover goal,” said Jeffrey Bergman, WPC’s director of community forestry and TreeVitalize Pittsburgh. “And Troy Hill is such a fitting place to plant this ceremonial tree – it’s an example of a community making their neighborhood better, which is the heart and soul of TreeVitalize.”
Pittsburgh’s street and park trees provide many benefits to communities by increasing property values and providing habitat for birds and other wildlife. According to WPC’s 2014 Street Tree Inventory, the city’s trees also reduce energy spending by $96,500 each year and capture 15.2 million gallons of stormwater. In all, these trees contribute $2.24 million annually to the city.
TreeVitalize reached its initial goal of planting 20,000 trees in 2013 and has since expanded efforts to strategically plant trees where needed and increase focus on tree maintenance and monitoring of those trees. In 2014, with funding from Heinz Endowments and the PSTC, the Conservancy completed a comprehensive inventory of the city’s street tree population, an initiative that had not been completed since 2005. As a result, a 10-year Street Tree Management Plan is now available to the public. Learn more about the 2014 Street Tree Inventory at WaterLandLife.org/406.
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Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC):
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region’s quality of life by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC has helped to establish ten state parks, conserved more than 252,000 acres of natural lands and protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams. The Conservancy owns and operates Fallingwater, which 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 about 12,500 volunteers. The work of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is accomplished through the support of nearly 10,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org.
Media Contact:
Kristen Blevins
Communications Specialist
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
412-586-2328
kblevins@paconserve.org