Trees for Watersheds Grant Program
One of the ways we can maximize the benefits that trees provide is by planting native species alongside streams and rivers. Often referred to as riparian buffers, these plantings help manage stormwater and reduce erosion while filtering pollutants and sediments before they reach our waterways.
This improves water quality and reduces flooding in addition to the many other benefits that all trees provide. Creating these buffers is critically important for ecosystems but also for human health and well-being – much of our drinking water in the Philadelphia area is drawn from our streams and rivers.
PHS manages the Trees for Watersheds grant program (formerly TreeVitalize Watersheds), which helps municipalities, nonprofits, and private landowners plant trees along streams, neighboring upland areas, and natural stormwater basins. The result is thousands of trees planted every year in sensitive water protection zones.
The collaboration of five organizations helps make this grant possible: PHS for Philadelphia projects and the four Conservation District offices in each of the surrounding SEPA counties.
Trees for Watersheds funding comes from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Aqua, an Essential Utilities Company
Watershed Trees Map
