When trees live among us, they give us so many wonderful benefits: clean air and water, energy savings, stormwater management, increased home values and much, much more. Upper Merion Shade Tree and Beautification Commission and UM Tree Tenders will once again offer Bare Root trees for sale for spring planting. These two groups will apply for grant funding from the TreeVitalize program run by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and coordinated through the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. The grant funding subsidizes the cost of trees so that residents will only need to provide a co-pay of $100 per tree. The trees will be of substantial sapling size (10-12 feet high and 1.5 inches in trunk diameter) and worth roughly $175-250 wholesale. They will be “bare root”, which makes them lightweight, very easy to handle and plant–planting and care instructions will be included. Residents must order by Friday, February 3, from a list of available species that are appropriate for planting in our area. The trees will likely be delivered to the UM Township Building, to be picked up on Saturday, April 22. Download the order form here. For additional information contact Barley Van Clief at barleyvc@gmail.com.