New Kensington residents will have opportunities to learn about trees before five dozen are planted in the city this fall.

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy will hold two “tree tender” training sessions before the trees are planted in at least two sessions in late October and early November, said Brian Crooks, a forester with the conservancy.

Dates and locations for the free classes have not been set yet. They will be held in the summer and early fall and will be open to any interested individuals or groups, Crooks said.

More than 6,000 people have been trained through the courses to plant, care for and prune young trees.

Volunteers will be sought to help plant the trees. Attending the tree tender trainings is not required to help, Crooks said.

“I really look forward to getting out and meeting folks,” Crooks said.

There is no cost to the city. The conservancy is using a $125,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to pay for the tree project in New Kensington this year. It will cover the same effort in Jeannette in 2023, Crooks said.

“This is a tremendous and needed undertaking,” New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo said. “It’s also a great project because it will involve the entire community from city hall, our school district and students and local organizations like the scouts, the library, the garden club and our churches.”

The project’s timeline calls for conducting a tree inventory, collecting data and considering locations for trees this summer. Tree planting plans will be finalized in early fall, and the conservancy will reach out to schools for educational activities.

A report on the tree inventory will be finalized by winter.

City Councilman Dante Cicconi said New Kensington has had tree plantings before, but not of this size.

Cicconi is hopeful residents will attend the classes and help plant the trees when the time comes. He recalled a proverb that people don’t plant trees for themselves, but for the next generation.

“We have a lot of replacements to do within our park system. There are a variety of different locations we are analyzing,” Cicconi said. “I’m excited for it.”

Crooks said the conservancy got connected to New Kensington through Harrison, where more than 200 trees have been planted.

Bill Herman, executive director of New Kensington’s redevelopment authority, is a landscape architect who has worked on projects in Harrison and participated in its tree plantings along with many other community volunteers, Harrison Commissioner Chuck Dizard said.

“The community spirit is incredibly infectious,” Herman said. “To have the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy come into New Kensington and, in addition to trees, help fuel the community spirit that’s there, it’s ultimately about the people and the community. I’m hopeful that this effort is only the first step of a multiyear engagement and process.”

Dizard said he introduced Herman to conservancy officials.

Dizard said most of Harrison’s trees have been planted in public rights of way, which were barren of trees.

“Some of them are getting more mature, like along Freeport Road and along Pacific Avenue,” he said. “It’s providing very nice tree canopy. It looks nice. It improves the value of property. It provides fresher air and places for birds to have a nest.”

More than 200 residents have participated in Harrison’s planting events, Dizard said.

“It’s just been a very important public display of citizenship and has been very positive,” he said. “Working with the conservancy has been just terrific.”

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