50 trees to be planted on Pittsburgh's Eliza Furnace Trail

Mayor Bill Peduto will join employees of Pittsburgh’s City Forestry department and a local nonprofit Friday to plant 50 trees on the Eliza Furnace Trail.

The planting will celebrate a partnership between Tree Pittsburgh, an environmental nonprofit that restores and protects urban forest, and Dynegy, a Texas-based energy company and retail electric service provider. The effort is part of Tree Pittsburgh’s attempt to “replace the thousands of acres of tree canopy lost in the region from 2010-2015.”

“Tree Pittsburgh values its relationships with the corporate community,” Danielle Crumrine, executive director of Tree Pittsburgh, said in a statement. “Financial support and employee engagement help to advance our mission and achieve so much.”

A PowerPoint from Tree Pittsburgh logged the loss of more than 10,000 acres of tree canopy in Allegheny County from 2010 to 2015. Pittsburgh lost the most acres during this period — about 1,007 — which amounted to about a 3% loss in tree canopy for the city.

Friday’s event is one of several plantings sponsored by Dynegy, officials said. The company has committed to plant 300 trees with the nonprofit in the next year — in areas including Northview Heights, Garfield and the Allegheny Greenway.

“Dynegy’s support of tree planting in the city will benefit our parks, trails and other green spaces that are so essential to our community’s well-being,” Crumrine said. “We look forward to continuing the partnership in the future.”

Dynegy, a subsidiary of another energy company, Vistra, regularly engages in local partnerships and has participated in numerous fundraisers for causes in Pittsburgh.

“When it comes to creating a greener, more sustainable Pittsburgh, Dynegy is proud to be part of the solution,” Brad Watson, Dynegy’s senior director of community affairs, said in a statement. “Each one of these trees will give the next generation the opportunity to enjoy the immense benefits that come from a healthy urban tree canopy.”