Tookany Creek Park in Cheltenham is an activity hub for both visitors and wildlife, offering a trail for bikers, woodlands for birdwatching and Tookany Creek for fishing. This year, the township is making it a priority to restore some of its greenery.

Cheltenham Township was awarded more than $14,000 through the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) Trees for Watersheds program to launch the Tookany Creek Parkway Community Tree Planting Initiative. The Cheltenham project involves the installation of around 80 native trees along Tookany Creek Parkway, which borders the park and runs parallel to Tookany Creek — a tributary of Tacony Creek.

The project aims to restore a canopy gap along the corridor, as well as improve the area’s ecological health and appearance. Cheltenham Township will partner with the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership and the Cheltenham Shade Tree Advisory Commission on the initiative. Township officials plan to restore more trees in that area after the installation of the initial 80, a spokesperson for the township said.

“It’s going to be a really nice beautification effort,” said Ryan Neuman, Montgomery County project manager for the Tookany/Tacony Frankford Watershed Partnership. “People love walking along shaded trails, especially when it’s during the summer. They’ll also provide space for birds and other things in the area as well. It’ll really elevate the space a little bit more.”

PHS’s Trees for Watersheds program supports community planting projects in priority watershed areas and helps restore critical habitats. Trees support water sources by reducing flooding and erosion, preventing pollutants and sediments from reaching waterways, according to PHS.

The grant will help the township acquire trees and supplies for a community volunteer planting event along the parkway, expected to take place in the fall. The township is working to secure the trees and select a date for the planting, said John Hosbach, the project’s consulting arborist. Volunteers will install native tree species in Veterans Park and multiple sites along the parkway.

The native species will replace a canopy gap created last spring, when the township removed 189 trees. Many were ash trees that were impacted by the emerald ash borer, an insect that feeds on the species and has killed millions of ash trees in North America. Others were aging, said Hosbach, whose firm Rockwell Associates conducted the assessment. The weakening trees and falling branches posed a safety hazard to visitors.

“Cheltenham is known for its tree canopy — just beautiful green trees and tree-lined streets,” said Mindy Lemoine, a member of Cheltenham’s Shade Tree Advisory Commission and an organizer for Cheltenham Tree Tenders. “But many of those were planted in the ’20s and ’30s, and a lot of them are dying now. It’s just part of the cycle.”

Nearly half of Cheltenham Township was covered in trees in 2010, according to Cheltenham Township’s Comprehensive Plan, with common trees including red oaks, eastern red cedars, sycamores, poplars and different ash, maple and elm species. Over time, the loss of older trees due to disease, pests and gradual wear has led to a significant decline in canopy coverage, the plan reads. Township officials committed to restoring the canopy in the plan.

Aging and mature canopy is a trend through southeastern Pennsylvania, Hosbach said.

Philadelphia has lost tree cover over the years due to urbanization, land use, disease and other factors. Through the 2023 Philly Tree Plan, city officials are striving to reach 30% tree cover in every neighborhood. Trees provide crucial environmental and community benefits, including cooling and improved health outcomes for residents. And they help neighborhoods become more resilient in the face of climate change, according to PHS.

“It’s important because the mission of the Shade Tree Commission and myself is to maintain, foster and care for the canopy within Cheltenham Township,” Hosbach said. “Our job is to restock the urban forest with more viable trees, so that our canopy remains very progressive and very sustainable, and to make sure that we’re doing our part as stewards of the township.”

PHS partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Growing Greener grant program and Aqua Pennsylvania to provide more than $276,000 in tree planting grants through the Trees for Watersheds program, the organization announced last month. The selected projects in Philadelphia and Montgomery counties include restoration efforts at Harriton Preserve in Lower Merion, Pennypack Creek Valley, Meadow Lake in FDR Park and the Port Richmond Trail along the Delaware River.

Abby Weiss is an environmental reporter for the Local and a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at abby@chestnuthilllocal.com.