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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Philadelphia Eagles joined students and state, city and School District of Philadelphia officials planting trees today at the Bregy School in South Philadelphia, Pa., last week. Bregy is one of the 24 schools in the city where a total of 309 trees are being planted as part of TreeVitalize, a public-private partnership to restore tree cover to the five-county Philadelphia region.
The Eagles made a $125,000 donation to the TreeVitalize effort for plantings at schools in the Philadelphia School District as part of the team's "Go Green" initiative. Through "Go Green," the Eagles are introducing green principles, sustainable practices and programs throughout the organization in an effort to reduce the team's environmental footprint.
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"Go Green is more than a play on words," said Christina Weiss Lurie, Philadelphia Eagles owner and president of Eagles Youth Partnership. "We at the Eagles recognize our responsibility to the environment, both as an organization and as citizens. Recycling, using renewable resources and tree planting are all central to this effort. We are focusing our tree planting at schools because we understand the relationship between healthy children and a healthy environment. We encourage other private businesses in our community to partner in this program, as well, to help TreeVitalize achieve its goals."
According to mapping by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources (DCNR), tree cover in this South Philadelphia neighborhood registers close to zero percent.
"A child can learn so much by planting a tree - how we need to take care of the things that make our world better, how a small action can make a big difference and how important living things are to many other elements of our communities," said DCNR Secretary Michael DiBerardinis. "TreeVitalize is working to spread these messages to local governments and homeowners as we move toward our goal of planting 20,000 trees in the next three years."
Schools were chosen based on being located in neighborhoods with little tree cover and being able to link the planting to an environmental education program.
"On behalf of the 200,000 students in the Philadelphia School District and the School Reform Commission of Philadelphia, we would like to thank the Philadelphia Eagles, The Fairmount Park Commission, DCNR and others for donating to the TreeVitalize program and for making this program a reality in our schools," said Paul Vallas, chief executive officer of the School District of Philadelphia. "This program will provide trees to public schools so that teachers and students will use them to enhance the environment around their schools."
Leading up to the planting event, students at Bregy School have been learning about trees and the important role they play in helping the environment. Students at the school participated in the planting, watering and mulching of the trees at the school during the planting ceremony.
Tree care training on how to keep the newly planted trees healthy was provided by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in April to principals, teachers, parents and community representatives. Fairmount Park's environmental education staff will provide a free hands-on educational program at each school participating in the TreeVitalize project. Students will learn the importance of trees in an urban environment, discover the exciting birds and other wildlife that these trees attract and will learn how to water and maintain the trees.
The Fairmount Park Commission, which oversees the planting and care of 250,000 street trees in Philadelphia, is managing the planting projects at the schools.
"Fairmount Park is excited about this important tree planting initiative," said Karen Lloyd Borski, executive director of the Fairmount Park Commission. "These 309 street trees will beautify our neighborhood schools, increase the tree cover in Philadelphia and teach our children the importance of trees in their daily lives, a fantastic benefit to all."
The $8 million TreeVitalize program targets neighborhoods in older cities, boroughs and townships where tree cover is below 25 percent. Tree cover refers to the percentage of land shaded by trees and shrubs.
DCNR oversees TreeVitalize and has partnered with: the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP); Aqua Pennsylvania; Philadelphia Eagles; PECO, an Exelon Co.; U.S. Forest Service; Pennsylvania Horticultural Society; Morris Arboretum; William Penn Foundation; Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association; Fairmount Park Commission; and county and local governments.
For more information visit www.treevitalize.net. To learn more about the Eagles "Go Green" initiative, visit www.gogreen-eagles.com.