Philly Tree Plan gets $12 Mill, Penn reduced carbon emissions by 46% & more.

What’s happening in local sustainability? Here’s a roundup of recent Philly news.

The Philly Tree Plan is getting $12 million dollars, the largest investment into the city’s urban forest in almost 30 years, to put words into action from the USDA Forest Service. Funding is going to The Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia (SBN), City of Philadelphia, Public Health Management Corporation, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Fairmount Park Conservancy, PowerCorpsPHL, and School District of Philadelphia will work together toward equitable growth and care of the city’s tree canopy. SBN

The neighborhoods with the highest need for trees in Philadelphia includes Kingsesssing, Grays Ferry and Hunting Park. This info comes from a recently released Urban Heat Map study by the Nature Conservancy of Pennsylvania.

The University of Pennsylvania has reduced carbon emissions by 46% since 2009, according to their recently released report. Penn Today Michael Mann, climate scientist at Penn (and formerly Penn State), was named as winner of the 2023 John Scott Awards.

The Bicycle Coalition held its annual World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims yesterday. 115 people have been killed as traffic crash victims this year in Philadelphia, including ten people riding bicycles and 52 pedestrians.

Get outside

The last recreational weekend closure of MLK Drive is this weekend, November 25-26th. Enjoy car-free streets from 7 AM Saturday through 7 AM Monday. The recreational space will resume in Spring 2024.

Photo courtesy of The City of Philadelphia’s Department of Parks & Recreation