Philadelphia residents will be able to add some extra green to their homes this spring.

Today, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation announced TreePhilly, a yard tree giveaway program, which will hand out 2,000 free trees to city residents. If you want to add some green to your home or business, all you have to do is sign up online and meet the eligibility guidelines:

• Trees must be planted on private land (front, back and side yards only, street trees can be requested here)
• You must be a property owner in Philadelphia (this includes businesses and residents)
• Plant the tree on private ground (no sidewalks or containers, only front, back and side yards)
• Maintain your tree to ensure survival (20 gallons of water per week, and keep away from lawnmowers and pets that could cause damage)
• One tree per address
• Must have an empty space available in your yard that is at least 10' x 10' for small trees or 30' x 30' for large trees

Pickup days will occur during the week of April 22nd through 28th at various locations throughout the city. If you sign up you will be contacted in March with details about times and pick up locations.

The sustainable giveaway supports both the City's Greenworks Philadelphia plan and the regional Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Plant One Million campaign each of which have aggressive goals for our region to become one of the greenest areas of the United States.

The benefits of planting a tree in your yard are numerous; trees help to beautify homes and blocks, improve health, reduce energy costs, and soak up excess storm water runoff which help keep rivers from rising.

By working with city residents who want to take care and tend to the trees, the City hope to reach their goal of planting 300,000 by 2015.

Michael DiBerardinis, Deputy Mayor for Environmental and Community Resources, said “the most effective way to reach our ambitious tree planting goal is to engage with communities and neighborhoods to encourage people to plant trees on their own property. TreePhilly gives us the resources and mechanisms to do just that.”

To complement this upcoming spring campaign, TreePhilly plans to handout 2,000 additional trees sometime in the fall.

Add a comment (0)

The more you and your neighbors recycle, the more you will be rewarded!

Earn Recycle Bank Points with the new Philadelphia Recycling Rewards Program, powered by Recycle Bank. Redeem your points for discounts and gift cards at hundreds of participating local and national merchants, or donate points to the Recycle Bank Green Schools program .

Recycle every week, the same day as trash day.

Put all recyclables together in one or more hard -sided containers mark Recycling

Use as many containers as you need.

Take charge of you trash. One of the main causes of litter is improper handling of trash. Set out times are 7PM 7AM,the night before collection. Trash cans and recycling bins, maximum 32 gallon cans, tied or sealed. Trash collection limits are as follows: Single

Family residences, up to 4

cans or 8 bags. Apartment buildings with two units or more and businesses up to 6 cans or 12bags.

Add a comment (0)