Penn’s Tree Campus USA Celebration |
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March 22, 2016, Volume 62, No. 27 |
For the 7th straight year, Penn is being recognized as a Tree Campus USA. This consistent recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation affirms Penn’s commitment to campus tree management, fostering healthy urban forests, community outreach and the engagement of the student population in these endeavors. The recognition is awarded in the spring of the year subsequent to the year being recognized. Announcement of the 2015 recognition will be made on Earth Day, Friday, April 22, to mark Penn’s commitment to the environment.
These are some of the events that will comprise Penn’s Tree Campus USA Celebration:
Diversion of cardboard waste from campus for use in expansion of Penn Park Orchard began earlier this month. Urban Park staff diverts bulk cardboard from campus to use for sheet mulching, which will create a rich organic gardening bed. Cardboard and compost are laid directly on top of grass, suppressing weed growth, while decomposing within a few months. The garden bed will be ready for expansion of the Penn Park Orchard into a fully functioning food forest by fall 2016. A food forest is a healthy ecosystem that mimics natural systems by taking advantage of every plant layer, including fruit trees and shrubs, berries, vines, perennial flowers and groundcover. This is in partnership with Henry Got Compost, a Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences composting operation, which makes organic compost by mixing Philadelphia Zoo herbivore waste, Weaver’s Way Food co-op vegetable scraps, and Henry Got Crops, Saul CSA, green waste.
Penn Park Orchard Planting will begin on March 31. Staff of FRES University Landscape Architect will collaborate with the Philadelphia Orchard Project (POP), Urban Park staff, and the broader Penn community to expand the Penn Park Orchard established in fall 2014. They will plant additional fruit trees, fruiting vines, shrubs and berries to begin the transformation into a fully functioning food forest by this fall. Some of the plants include strawberries, hardy kiwi and grape vines. As part of the collaboration with POP on this event, it will be open to Penn volunteers. To volunteer: http://www.phillyorchards.org/volunteer/schedule/
Penn’s 30x30 Challenge, April 1-30, is sponsored by Penn’s Green Campus Partnership. It is a campus-wide challenge open to all Penn staff and faculty to spend at least 30 minutes outdoors each day of April: bit.ly/30x30signups
Registration for Creating Canopy opens the week of April 4. This is the 4th year for this program, this year in partnership with the Morris Arboretum and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation. Free yard trees will be given to University and UPHS employees who are homeowners in Philadelphia as well as the suburbs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. A variety of large and small, shade and flowering trees will be available through pre-registration on the Green Campus Partnership website. The registration deadline is April 29. All tree species are first-come, first-served.
The Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival at Morris Arboretum will take place April 9 and April 16. Morris Arboretum will offer free shuttle bus transportation from campus for current Penn students to attend the Cherry Blossom Festival. To register: http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/arboretum/yourArboretum.shtml
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The history of the Morris Arboretum is rich with Japanese influences. Experience the beauty of the Arboretum’s cherry tree collection in bloom. Both Saturdays—April 9 and 16—will feature traditional Japanese cultural activities. Visitors are invited to discover and appreciate the variety of cherry species planted throughout the Arboretum. They expect that some of the earliest cherries, such as the Okame, could be blooming by April 9. The later blooming cherries, including Higan and Yoshino, could be in bloom by April 16. Morris Arboretum is generally about 8-10 days behind DC. To learn more about official bloom times, refer to the National Park Service’s website for DC: www.nps.gov/cherry/cherry-blossom-bloom.htm |
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