Diamond City Partnership will plant 10 new street trees in Downtown Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, November 9.
Wilkes-Barre, PA: November 8, 2023 – On Thursday, November 9, the Diamond City Partnership (DCP), Wilkes-Barre’s nonprofit downtown management organization, will be planting new shade trees throughout Downtown Wilkes-Barre, starting at 9 AM on Livingston and Nesbitt Lanes.
The project has been funded by a Bare Root Tree Grant from TreePennsylvania – the Pennsylvania Urban and Community Forestry Council – and is being implemented by DCP with planting volunteers from the Wilkes-Barre Area Career & Technical Center’s Horticulture Program and assistance from DCP’s Downtown Ambassador Team, the City of Wilkes-Barre’s Department of Public Works, and Penn State Cooperative Extension.
The new plantings will include eight London Plane trees on Livingston and Nesbitt Lanes; two Red Oak trees and two Gingko trees on the River Common between West Northampton and West South Streets; two Elm trees and one Zelkova tree on the first block of North Franklin Street; and four Zelkova trees on the first block of North Pennsylvania Avenue.
“These twenty new trees are the latest phase of DCP’s work to repair Downtown Wilkes-Barre’s shade tree canopy,” said DCP Executive Director Larry Newman. “This is the fourth consecutive year that DCP has secured and planted trees through the Bare Root Tree Grant program: with this year’s plantings, DCP will have planted a total of 60 new shade trees along Downtown Wilkes-Barre streets since 2020.”
“We are grateful to our partners in this effort,” Newman said. “They include Mayor Brown and Dave Lewis of DPW; George Albright of the Wilkes-Barre Area Career & Technical Center’s Horticulture Program and his student planting volunteers; King’s College; D&D Realty Group; Luzerne County; and Penn State Urban Forester Vinnie Cotrone, whose support and guidance has been invaluable.”
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About the Diamond City Partnership
The Diamond City Partnership (DCP) is Wilkes-Barre’s non-profit downtown management organization, serving as the custodian of our community’s vision for Downtown Wilkes-Barre. DCP’s work plan is intended to improve the economic vitality and livability of Wilkes-Barre’s central business district. As part of that goal, DCP manages Downtown Wilkes-Barre’s Keystone Communities Main Street program and the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Improvement District, which together provide a range of services to Downtown’s property and business owners. Visit us online at www.wbdcp.org.
CONTACT:
Shelby Monk, Diamond City Partnership (570) 239-1133 or shelby@wbdcp.org