Leafy aspirations: Cherry Hill handing out hundreds of trees for planting at homes and public property in town.

About 200 Cherry Hill residents will show up on Perina Boulevard on the last Saturday of this month with a common goal: Make the town a bit greener.

Each resident will pick up a free three- to six-foot sapling — red oak, dogwood, redbud or serviceberry — to plant on their property and paid for through the 4-year-old Cherry Hill Tree Fund, which assesses developers or property owners a penalty for trees taken down and not replaced.

It's the second year for the tree giveaway program and the number of trees handed out to those who pre-registered has doubled.

"The tree fund has allowed us to think bigger picture about this," Megan Brown, the mayor's deputy chief of staff, told 70and73.com. The tree giveaway, which this year cost $27,000 from the tree fund, will be held for residents who reserved trees on April 25 at the Department of Public Works on Perina Boulevard, off Marlkress Road.

The Township also seeks volunteers to help plant 120 tree-fund-financed trees on Township open space at Willowdale Park, Surrey Place East, Old Orchard Park and Bortons Mill Park on April 18, April 26 and May 2.

Last year, volunteers planted 80 in the spring and 84 in the fall and "we haven't had to replace any of them," Brown said.

A third part of the Township's "Branching Out Tree Initiative" are 45 larger, more-mature trees that are being planted by the DPW on Township property.

As of this week, the Tree Fund has about $150,000, according to Brian Bauerle, the mayor's chief of staff.

The amendment to Cherry Hill town law "regulating tree preservation, removal and replanting" came after developers and others began to clear startling numbers of trees in a community already heavy with asphalt parking lots and commercial development. Residents at town government meetings were outspoken in their rage over disappearing trees.

For example, the 2022 project for a new Public Service Electric and Gas Co. electricity substation next to the former M'Kor Shalom synagogue on Evesham Road required clearing 591 trees from 11 wooded acres. Many of the trees to be cut down were more than 20 inches in diameter at breast height and two were about three feet in diameter.

Other programs to replant trees are sponsored by the state and nonprofits in New Jersey. 

Last year on Earth Day in April, Newark launched a "Rooted in Newark" initiative to plant at least 500 trees a year for 10 years with a goal of a total of 5,000 trees planted. 

Community shredding day also this month

Cherry Hill's tree-planting project will not be the only Earth Month observance in April.

The Township also will sponsor a semiannual community drive-up shredding and recycling day on Sunday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cherry Hill Public Works Department, 1 Perina Boulevard. The event is for residents only, and no businesses. Four is the maximum number of boxes for shredding.

Besides paper, other material accepted will include light bulbs, e-waste, rechargeable batteries, tires (off rims), used oil and car batteries.