April 18, 2022
The City of Philadelphia has launched the Philly Tree PlanA 10-year plan to protect, grow, and maintain the city’s canopy. Despite all the city’s efforts to make Philadelphia greener, there are still obstacles for residents when it comes time to plant trees.
Residents can get help from local tree-tending and environmental groups to plant trees. Although the Philly Tree Plan was in operation for one year, residents will still be able to see its true impact for nine more years.
Organizations like UC Green, Green Tree Tenders for the Center City Residents’ Association,Queen Village Tree TendersWork with residents to help them plant a tree and navigate any other obstacles that may occur.
Tempest Carver applied to have a street plant through one of the 202 tree tending organisations in Pennsylvania, UC Green. Tempest is also a member of the board. It was easy for her.
Carter described the process as “pretty seamless”, describing the application that asks for a general date, time, and type of tree.
Carter’s first tree was planted April 2021. It ended up dying.
She said, “I wanted a blooming tree.”
Carter worked with UC Green volunteers in order to determine the cause of the tree’s death. Carter received a new flowering seedling as part of a larger planting, even with other tree-planting programs.
Ethan Leatherbarrow serves as a project coordinator. Philadelphia Parks and RecreationResponsible for various projects that develop the City’s street trees inventory, such data management and field inspections. Leatherbarrow is also a volunteer for UC Green.
Leatherbarrow stated that homeowners have several options depending on where they live to plant trees in their yard. For street tree plantings, however, a permit is not required. New plantings can be done by certified arborists, private contractors, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, PHS and other plant-related organizations.
Although the application process for street trees is straightforward, there may be external obstacles that prevent street trees from being planted.
Leatherbarrow said that each potential planting site will have highly variable circumstances that could decrease the likelihood for permit approval. This includes low hanging overhead wires and cracked sidewalk slabs as well as the presence or absence of water, gas, or sewer infrastructure. “PPR will not approve permits to plant species not in accordance with our species selection.” Criteria.”
Kiasha Huling from UC Green is also aware of the difficulties residents face when applying for a permit to grow a street tree. UC Green’s Arbor and Art Instagram Auction helped raise funds for the charity. UC Green plans create a fund for residents who have environmental issues that are already present and to cover the cost of addressing those issues.
UC Green is a tree care organization responsible for greening West and Southwest Philadelphia communities. These communities were greened by planting street trees, maintaining community gardens, and organizing block cleanups in the 19104, 19143 and 19139 ZIP codes.
Huling stated, “If you want to plant a tree, you must repair the sidewalk that was damaged by the tree before you can plant it.” “A lot residents say, “That makes no sense,” and I could agree. But, it is how it is set up.
Cracked sidewalks or other structural problems can make it difficult for residents to plant trees on their property. (Caroline Sweeney/PN)
Huling also explained how a block can be a hindrance for tree planting.
Huling stated that Philadelphia has a large stock of carriage blocks due to its age. “The rule is that from your property to the curb, there must be at least 3 feet of a walking trail. Also, the minimum size of tree pits must be 3ft. That means you need at most 6 feet of clearance.
Other tree planting problems may be unique in different parts of the city. The unique challenges faced within each community are what is common among Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s 202 Tree tenders.
According to the PHS website Tree Tenders can be described as “groups in their local communities that transform the health, well-being and quality of their communities through rallying their neighbors to plant and take care of trees.”
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This story was originally published in PhiladelphiaNeighborhoods.com.
