On Arbor Day 2004, Governor Edward G. Rendell launched TreeVitalize, a partnership to restore tree cover in the five counties of Southeast Pennsylvania. TreeVitalize is the region's response to a 2003 study by American Forestry, which estimated that the region lost millions of trees over the past 20 years.

Led by DCNR, TreeVitalize brought together leaders from public and private sectors,Aeiall levels of government, regional non-profits, institutions and corporate entities. Partners have pledged time and resources to work together to increase tree planting, encourage better tree care, and advocate for and educate the public and governments about this issue. Guidelines and priorities were set by a 15-member Steering Committee composed of major funding and implementation partners as well as a representative from each county government. Since 2004, funders have made cash commitments totaling $5.4 million. Local planting partners have leveraged an estimated $3 million in in-kind and volunteers services. The goals of TreeVitalize are:,

1. To raise public awareness of the need to plant and care for trees in our communities.
2. To support planting and educational activities to restore and sustain tree cover.
3. To promote investment from private and public sector.
4. To encourage multi-municipal approaches, dialogue and regional collaboration.
5. To capture and document environmental benefits of increased tree cover.

Planting and education projects are implemented by technical assistance partners: Penn State University and the four County Conservation Districts. In addition to these implementation partners, TreeVitalize works with hundreds local planting partners and volunteers throughout the region. These partners include community development corporations, civic organizations, Tree Tender groups, Friends of Park groups, schools, special services districts, churches.

Over a four year period TreeVitalize set out to leverage $8 million dollars from the private and public sectors; to plant 20,000 shade trees; create 1,000 acres of forest in riparian, source water protection or other natural areas; and provide intensive training in tree planting and care to 2,000 citizens.

TreeVitalize Neighborhoods mobilizes citizens, county and local governments to plant trees in targeted neighborhoods. The partnership includes Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, UC Green, Morris Arboretum, City of Philadelphia and DCNR Bureau of Forestry. TreeVitalize provides trees and technical assistance to implement planting of large trees (1.5,Aeu- 2.5,Aeu caliper; bare root, container or b&b). Areas targeted include those with lower tree cover and higher population density. The preferred model is community-assisted neighborhood tree planting which minimizes the use of contractor services and maximizes the use of in-kind labor from local government sources and/or community volunteers.

TreeVitalize Tree Tenders is a partnership with PHS and Penn State that provides 9 hours of classroom/ field training to community residents who want to become urban forestry leaders. Subjects covered include: tree identification, planting, pruning, mulching, tree biology/ physiology, proper species selection, community tree care, proper pruning practices, tree pit care, planting, tree inventory.

TreeVitalize Watersheds is a partnership with county conservation districts and Fairmount Park. It provides assistance to non-profit organizations, public land managers, watershed associations, homeowner associations, land trusts and volunteers to implement forested riparian buffer projects. Riparian areas targeted include public lands and protected lands adjacent to reservoirs.

TreeVitalize Municipalities is a partnership with the Delaware Valley Regional Planning commission, PHS and Penn State to provide informational and financial assistance to local municipalities to develop proactive urban forest management. This program encourages best practices and innovative approaches to restore and increase tree cover at the local government level.

TreeVitalize deserves to win a Philadelphia Sustainability Award because it touches all the pillars of the sustainability framework.

TreeVitalize addresses the issue of Environmental Quality by increasing tree cover. Trees provide multiple environmental services: stormwater management, air quality improvement, habitat enhancement, climate change, energy conservation. Leaves intercept and roots absorb heavy rainfall. Tree buffers filter polluting runoff, shade and cool waters to improve fish habitat. The cooling effects of trees alleviate 'heat island' situations and slow the formation of ozone. Trees that shade summer sun or buffer winds in winter reduce energy use. Trees also absorb pollutants, catch particulates and store carbon, helping to slow global warming.

TreeVitalize addresses the issue of Social Equity by targeting areas of low tree cover. Areas with lowest tree cover in our region tend to be our older communities with less access to open space, lower income, older infrastructure (including combined sewers), and they are more fiscally challenged. Trees are seen as an amenity that lower income communities just can't deal with. The decline or lack of tree cover is an indicator for a lower quality of life. By targeting these areas to increase tree cover, we are making the environmental services of trees available to communities that need them most. In places where there is little opportunity to acquire land for parks and conservation, making the community more park-like through increasing overall tree cover is an achievable goal.

TreeVitalize addresses the issue of Economic Feasibility by increasing, coordinating, diversifying the limited resources available for tree planting, care and education. By using these resources more strategically and efficiently, we can achieve efficiency and economies of scale that are not possible to achieve individually. For example, rather than 100 projects buying 25 trees each (2500 trees), TreeVitalize can leverage its buying power to procure high quality trees at a better price. We can afford to put experts (Morris Arboretum arborists) in market to build demand and educate nursery owners about the tree species and structure of trees that will survive in harsh urban environments.

TreeVitalize IS a partnership, and it is already being replicated. A TreeVitalize partnership will be launched in Pittsburgh in 2008 and DCNR is working with other partners across the state to adopt the model in smaller metro areas.

TreeVitalize has propelled tree planting to the highest level seen in decades and increased the public dialogue about tree cover. We have met two of our three goals by planting just over 20,000 trees and educating over 2,000 citizens. Highlights include:

TreeVitalize Neighborhoods mobilizes citizens and provides assistance to plant large shade trees along streets and public spaces. Through December 2007, 6,273 landscape size trees have been planted in 43 neighborhoods with help from over 3,000 volunteers.

TreeVitalize Watersheds focuses on the riparian areas within the Fairmount Park system. Through December 2006, about 270 acres of native trees and shrubs have been planted along streams with help from over 6,000 volunteers.

 Tree Tender Training Over the last three years over 1,100 residents of the region have graduated completed the 9-hours Tree Tender basic training and over 2,000 have attended shorter educational sessions.

TreeVitalize Rebate Program - About 4,700 trees have been planted in private yards through the program.

Tree Tender Bare Root Tree Program supplies subsidized trees to graduates of the 9-hour Tree Tender training class. Through December 2007, bare root trees have been planted by 25 Tree Tender groups in their neighborhoods with help from 500 volunteers.

TreeVitalize reached out to non-traditional partners to not only plant more trees, but to raise the visibility of community forestry and reach new audiences.

TreeVitalize is working with:

1. The Philadelphia Eagles to plant 332 landscape size street trees at 25 Philadelphia public elementary schools, many of which had no existing street trees and to create a forest at Neshaminy State Park that will eventually cover a 5 acres site with 3,000 native trees and shrubs.
2.  Comcast Corp. to host a corporate day of service in October 2006 where 330 trees were planted by over 500 volunteers.
3. Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Transformation to revitalize neighborhood. commercial corridors by planting 600 trees. So far, 596 landscape size street trees have been planted along commercial corridors.
4. The Center City District to explore new planting specifications to improve the health and longevity of street trees in the City's downtown business district.

In 2007 TreeVitalize was selected to receive a national award from the Home Depot Foundation and the US Conference of Mayors. To win the large city category award, Philadelphia prevailed over Chicago, Atlanta and Minneapolis, cities noted for their green initiatives.

Our most important accomplishment is that this initiative will continue. TreeVitalize was initially scoped as a four-year initiative. Current funding commitments will support tree planting and education activities through June 2008. TreeVitalize partners committed to continue to work together beyond June 2008 and have begun planning for a second phase. Partners hope to expand technical assistance and capacity building in the next phase of the project. DCNR has pledged to continue to support the partnership, as well as, support similar partnerships in other large metro areas in Pennsylvania.