Homegrown Habitats: Chester Edition

(Above) A Chester resident holds up a native plant she received from PDE’s Homegrown Habitats program.

They say timing is everything. This fall Chester, Pennsylvania, resident Parie Powell moved into a new home and was looking for something pretty to decorate her front porch. When she left the Ruth Bennett Community Farm on a sunny October afternoon, she was high-fiving her neighbors and gushing about the gardening supplies and native plants she received that day through PDE’s Homegrown Habitats Program, and how they were just the thing to adorn her new abode.

Powell wasn’t the only happy Chester resident to walk away with some free plants this fall. The native plant giveaway at the Bennett farm was part of a monthlong Homegrown Habitats program that focused on teaching Chester residents about gardening at home with native plants and taking advantage of any available space.

Parie Powell of Chester, Pennsylvania, shows off the planters, soil, and native plants she’ll use to decorate the front of her new home. The supplies came courtesy of PDE’s Homegrown Habitats program, made available to Chester residents this year.

Native plants are easy to grow because they have adapted to the local soil and climate. Their robust root systems capture stormwater, aid groundwater recharge, and provide habitats for essential pollinators like birds, bees, and butterflies.

PDE gave away more than 800 native plants to participating Chester residents this year. Last year, PDE piloted the Homegrown Habitats program in Wilmington, Delaware, where PDE gave away 620 plants to 37 participating city residents.

PDE received financial support for this program from the EPA under an Assistance Agreement funded by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

For more photos from the day, visit: bit.ly/HGH24

WATERS W1.3/ W1.4 STRONG COMMUNITIES C1.2/ C2.3