Free trees to be offered to Tarentum residents to combat canopy loss

Free trees will be available to Tarentum residents at a distribution in April.

Borough residents can begin signing up at 10 a.m. Monday for the trees offered by Tree Pittsburgh and the borough’s recreation board.

Advance registration is required.

The trees are scheduled to be distributed between 10 a.m. and noon on Saturday, April 10 at the Tarentum Marina, located under the Tarentum Bridge.

“This is a benefit to the Tarentum community to help create and restore our neighborhoods,” said Councilwoman Carrie Fox, recreation board president.

About 200 trees will be available, and each household can get up to two, said Erin Gaughan, volunteer and special events coordinator for Tree Pittsburgh.

Registration will be opened to people living outside Tarentum on April 1 if any trees remain available, she said.

A dozen tree species will be available. They are red buckeye, serviceberry, pawpaw, American hornbeam, persimmon, umbrella and sweetbay magnolia, black cherry, chestnut oak, bald cypress, American Linden and blackhaw vibrunum.

Information on each tree species is available on Tree Pittsburgh’s website to help residents select the right tree for their property, Gaughan said.

Trees will come in 2 to 3 gallon pots and range from 2 to 6 feet tall.

Founded in 2006, Tree Pittsburgh is a non-profit dedicated to enhancing community vitality by restoring and protecting the urban forest through tree planting and care, education, advocacy and land conservation.

Gaughan said she believes this will its first tree distribution in Tarentum.

The borough was chosen because a study found it lost nearly 10 acres of tree canopy between 2010 and 2015.

“That really affects things given the size of Tarentum,” Gaughan said. “We try to choose areas that have significant canopy loss given their size and also try to prioritize environmental justice communities.”

Tarentum was identified as a high need environmental justice community in a study by the Allegheny County Health Department in 2019.

Those receiving trees will get information on how to plant and care for their trees, Gaughan said.

Tree Pittsburgh may also follow up with residents about their trees.

“I like to reach out periodically to check on the trees and see how they’re doing,” she said.

Gaughan encouraged Tarentum residents to sign up.

“Trees provide a lot of benefits,” she said. “There’s some maintenance with trees, but the benefits you get from a tree far outweigh the maintenance that might come with it.”

Other communities eligible for free trees include McKeesport and boroughs within the Woodland Hills section of Allegheny County.