TreeVitalize: A Green Partnership to Restore Tree Cover

The trees that line our streets and roads, shade our yards, beautify our parks and playgrounds, and protect our streams are all part of the community forest that provide a wealth of benefits to each of us. Over the years, the number of trees (or tree cover) in our communities have been declining for various reasons including attack from invasive pests such as Emerald Ash Borer and now Spotted Lantern Fly, injury from construction activities or deicing salts, improper tree care practices, unwarranted removals by some and lack of funding for replacement of declining trees. 

In 2004, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources launched a public-private partnership title TreeVitalize with a mission of planting over 1 million new trees and restoring tree cover in Pennsylvania communities.  The program has since spread to all corners of the state, and what began as a tree planting and citizen education program has grown to encompass much more than that. TreeVitalize now covers a broad range of urban and community forestry subjects.

Partners work together to support the program, plantings trees, and training of citizens and municipal officials. The Penn State Extension's Urban Forestry Program is a major partner, providing:

• Educational programs and trainings (including Tree Tenders, Arborist Short Courses, Woods in Your Backyard, Pruning Workshops, webinars, factsheets and publications
• Technical assistance to communities in a variety of tree-related subjects, including developing TreeVitalize Grant Applications and planting plans, establishing tree commissions and enacting natural resource ordinances
• Training for professionals and communities on how to complete tree inventories that assist communities in planning efforts.
• Train citizens and municipal officials on how to properly select, plant, and maintain trees in their local communities
• Assist municipal stormwater management through the incorporation tree canopy and other green infrastructure

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources - Bureau of Forestry provides leadership to the TreeVitalize program and financial assistance to communities in form of grants for tree planting, tree inventories, urban tree canopy assessments, and tree improvement projects. 

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society  (in the Philadelphia area) provides citizen education and training through their Tree Tenders® Program, recruiting over 5,500 to become Tree Tenders who plant and care for trees in their neighborhoods.  Each year PHS plants over 1,300 large street trees with the help of volunteers and Tree Tenders.  The PHS Watersheds Program provides funding and technical support to watershed management non-profits. Through this program, dozens of such watershed restoration projects are conducted throughout the region. This results in thousands of trees planted in those sensitive water protection zones every year.

TreePennsylvania, or the Pennsylvania Urban & Community Forestry Council was established in 1992 to serve in an advisory capacity to the Commonwealth's State Forester. The Council has since become a 501(C)3 entity providing it greater flexibility in partnerships with opportunities to provide community and urban forestry grants to communities throughout the state. The Council receives support from the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and works closely with the Bureau of Forestry and Penn State Extension to carryout the statewide urban forestry program, TreeVitalize. The Council also works with the U.S. Forest Service, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and others across the state. These ongoing partnerships create a dynamic network of dedicated experts concerned with the health and vitality of the trees of Pennsylvania.

Since 2008, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, TreePittsburgh, Alleghany County Parks and the City of Pittsburgh have partnered with community groups, nonprofits and municipal agencies to planted over 37,000 trees in an effort to improve the quality of life and the environment in the Pittsburgh region.

Pennsylvania's Urban & Community Forestry Program is not new, dating back to 1991, but the TreeVitalize Program has certainly energized and coordinated the work of many partners throughout the commonwealth. Through the TreeVitalize program, over $8.5 million has been provided to communities leading to the planting of close to 600,000 urban trees and training of over 10,000 volunteer tree tenders. If it were not for the work of the numerous partners and dedicated volunteers, the more than half a million trees might not have been planted, or even worse, they could be dying from lack of care. As the new lush green canopy cover grows, it will provide millions of dollars in benefits, creating livable communities for Pennsylvanians.