Mayor Luke Ravenstahl today announced the City’s plans to plant 60 trees tomorrow in Homewood, Greenfield, Brighton Heights and Larimer in honor of Arbor Day. Arbor Day, celebrated today, encourages residents to plant trees and promote environmental sustainability. The City also hung its “Tree City USA” flag today at the City-County Building.

"We're connecting residents with opportunities to experience the importance of trees through programs like tree-seedling giveaways and community tree plantings," Ravenstahl said. "With the efforts of so many individuals and organizations, we're well on our way to meeting the goal outlined by the TreeVitalize Pittsburgh partnership to plant 20,000 trees by 2012. We continue to educate residents on the importance of planting the right species of trees that will not only improve our city's air quality, but  improve our ability to manage storm water."

TreeVitalize Pittsburgh is a joint project with the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Tree Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. The partnership's mission is to significantly increase the tree canopy in the region by planting 20,000 trees by 2010.
The City remains an active TreeVitalize partner, and has organized community volunteers to plant 13,000 trees in nearly 60 City neighborhoods since 2008.

This weekend's plantings are made possible by in-house work performed by the City’s Department of Public Works, community volunteers and funds from DCNR and WPC. Other efforts to plant more trees in the City include the Mayor’s Free Tree Giveaway. More than 1,000 trees were given to residents this week during Market Square’s Earth Week celebration.

SATURDAY TREE PLANTINGS - PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES:

Brighton Heights
9 a.m. to 12 noon
Antrim St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

• Joined by neighbors, Western PA Conservancy staff and volunteers, TreeVitalize will plant 21 street trees on the site of Brighton Heights Citizens Federation’s vacant lot remediation and community garden project. This was one of 20 projects selected to receive a Mayor’s Love Your Block grant.

Greenfield
9 a.m. to 12 noon
Corner of Saline St. and Alexis St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15207

• This will be the first-ever stormwater project completed through TreeVitalize, in cooperation with Penn State University and the City of Pittsburgh. The demonstration will include the planting of 15 trees, placement of rain garden soil mix, and the removal of the existing sidewalk, which will be replaced with pervious concrete.

Homewood
9 a.m. to 12 noon
Corner of Race St. and Collier St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15208

• Along with volunteers from the Race Street Beautification Committee, TreeVitalize will plant 21 street trees on both neighborhood sidewalks and on a few City-owned lots.

Larimer
9 a.m.  to 12 noon
Environment and Energy Community Outreach (EECO) Center
Corner of East Liberty Blvd. and Larimer Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15206

• A lot that was once home to an abandoned former BP gas station is transforming into the location of the new EECO Center. The Center is now an energy efficiency education and training resource for East End neighborhoods. Its roles include demonstrating cost-effective energy efficiency strategies and green technologies. Tomorrow, TreeVitalize volunteers will be planting 12 new trees to accent this new construction.