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Taking Care of Philly's Cherries |
| Written by Chris Yeager, on 29-05-2008 11:22 |
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For anyone who isn’t familiar with our tree planting initiative or the history of cherry blossom trees in Philadelphia, I’ll briefly recount the back-story:
In 1926, the Japanese Government gave 1,600 flowering trees to Philadelphia in honor of the 150th anniversary of American Independence. To carry on the legacy in appreciation of this gift, in 1998 the JASGP began a ten-year, donor-supported campaign of planting and maintaining 1,000 cherry blossom trees in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. These trees embody a core aspect of Philadelphia’s connection with Japan and are celebrated annually in our largest event – the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia.
The ten-year goal of planting 1,000 trees in Fairmount Park was reached in the spring of 2007, and although we continue planting cherry blossoms in community parks, much of our resources are devoted to the routine pruning and mulching necessary to ensure the healthy growth of the 1,000 young trees.
The JASGP held the first of four annual maintenance sessions on Saturday, May 17. About 30 volunteers showed up bright and early, took up shovels, wheelbarrows, pruning tools, and within 3 hours had serviced over 100 trees. The weather was perfect and, as always, it was a thoroughly enjoyable and energizing way to start the weekend.
| If you didn’t have the chance to attend this time, sign up for our next session on June 28th by contacting Sam Malissa at
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Help us continue planting and caring for trees. Support Philadelphia's environment! |
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Images: (tree maintenance from previous years -- new photos will be posted soon)
Last update: 16-06-2008 09:34
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