PHS Tree Hub

Your one-stop shop for all PHS provided information and guidelines for organizing safe and fun tree plantings. This page is intended for group planting committees and leaders.

Distribution & Plantings

Spring 2026 Distribution & Planting

Tree Unloading and Pickups

Trees arrive April 14th
Pickups are scheduled for April 15th – 17th

Volunteer

We need help at the warehouse setting up, (un)loading, inspecting, and processing trees, and breaking down!

Quick Links

Timeline & Important Tasks

DATE	TASK
January 7, 2026	PA Urban and Community Forestry (county) tree application opens
January 14, 2026	Training: Advanced Pruning Lecture \| Virtual Fill out Interest Form Here
January 24, 2026 Rain Date: January 25, 2026	Training: Advanced Pruning In Person Workshops \| Philly and County 10:00am-12:30pm Fill out Interest Form Here
January 21, 28, and February 4, 2026	Training: Basic Tree Tenders \| Virtual 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm Register Here
February 2, 2026	PA Urban and Community Forestry Municipalities (county) tree application closes
February 9, 2026	Planting Event Details Due Provide PHS with your planting event(s) details and volunteer recruitment request. Form Here
February 9, 2026	Office Hours with Tree Team Experts \| Virtual 5:30pm-6:30pm Choose 15 Minute Slot Here
February 12, 2026	Training: Tree Tender Leader \| Virtual 6:30pm-8pm Fill out Interest Form Here
March 9, 2026	Invite planters to register at VolunteerHub. VolunteerHub links will be emailed to volunteer managers.
March 18, 2026	Tree Tender Leader Town Hall \| Virtual 6:00PM-7:00PM Zoom Link
March 28, 2026 Rain Date: March 29, 2026	Training: Bareroot Crew Leader \| In Person 10:00am-2:00pm Fill out Interest Form Here
March 30, 2026	Schedule your tree pickup timeslot. Register Here
April 6, 2026	Pits cuts are complete! Leaders must survey new pit sites.
3-10 business days before planting day	PA 1 Calls before digging, organize tools/supplies, final reminders to tree recipients/volunteers/leaders.
April 15 – 17, 2026	Tree Pickup
April 16 – 20, 2026	Tree Planting Double check trees are planted properly (root flare visible at soil grade, staked/tied – no strangling knots), and mulched
May 1, 2026	Philadelphia Tree Applications Due
June 1, 2026	Submit your planting attendance, signed paper waivers, and volunteer tracking to volunteer@pennhort.org. Visit our volunteer hub for more info. Send photos to mhorrell@penhort.org
June 6, 2026 Rain Date: June 7, 2026	Training: Tree Checkers In Person Workshops \| Philly and County 10:00am-12:00pm Fill out Interest Form Here
June 13, 2026 Rain Date: June 14, 2026	Training: Tree Tenders Workshop and Graduation \| In Person 10:00am-1:00pm Fill out Interest Form Here

Philadelphia Groups

Tree Application Approvals (Check back soon!)

Philly Mulch Certificates

Current Mulch Certificates (Check back soon!)

Free mulch is available at the Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center at 3850 W. Ford Rd. At the link below, each group has a mulch certificate to present at the Recycling Center.

Tree Recipient Handouts

Press/Media

Upcoming Trainings

For upcoming classes, please register here and select which class(es) you would like to attend. A PHS Trees Team member will be in contact when registration opens up for the selected workshop(s).

Recorded Trainings & Guides

Organizing a Planting Info Session Recording

(70mins, March 2022)
Key steps, tools, checklists, and tips you can adopt for a safe and fun volunteer tree planting.

WATCH RECORDING

Tree Tender Leader Training Recording

(80mins, October 2025)
Learn what it takes to become a Tree Tender Leader! Whether you’re ready to lead or just exploring the idea, we’ll walk you through the roles, responsibilities, and real impact you can have guiding a community Tree Tender group.

WATCH RECORDING

Watch Tree Planting & Tending Playlist

Volunteers

Need help with your next planting? Register your planting event and request volunteer advertisement through PHS. Your event will be posted on our Tree Plantings page  indicating your need for volunteers.

PHS Youth Volunteer Policies

Depending on location, volunteers ages 8 through 13 are welcome to volunteer with us given a signed waiver from their legal guardian and accompaniment by their guardian for the duration of the volunteer shift.

Volunteers ages 14 through 17 may volunteer without a parent/guardian/group leader. A guardian must sign the PHS Volunteer Waiver on their behalf. This can be done through VolunteerHub.

Registration, Waivers & Policies

PHS requires your Tree Tenders planting event volunteers to acknowledge the PHS Volunteer Waiver (all documents are listed on the right). This can be done in advance using our volunteer registration system VolunteerHub (more info below).

Volunteer Documents

Reporting Hours

Post Planting Reporting

All events are required to record participant hours in VolunteerHub (instructions below). We encourage organizers to track and include hours spent planning/prepping too.

VolunteerHub

VolunteerHub is the online platform we use to share PHS volunteer opportunities and register volunteers for events.

Use VolunteerHub to:

Get notifications when volunteers signup/cancel
Collect the required PHS volunteer waiver
Send automatic confirmation/reminder emails to volunteers
Export a list of your registrants
Print a sign-in sheet for the day of your event
Report participant hours to PHS

Volunteer managers will be emailed event signup link(s) and VolunteerHub admin credentials before their plantings. Review a full guide of VolunteerHub below.

VOLUNTEERHUB USER’S GUIDE

VolunteerHub Demonstration

Learn how to edit your planting event/confirmation details, view your participant contact info, print a sign-in sheet, and record participant hours.

WATCH DEMONSTRATION