PHILADELPHIA, (May 8, 2008) – PECO will provide $10,000 in grant funding to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to assist communities with implementing the City of Philadelphia’s “GreenPlan Philadelphia.”  Through the Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Green program, they will help select neighborhoods to identify early action steps they can take to implement the GreenPlan, including targeting locations for new open spaces and greenways.

The grant is being made through the PECO Green Region program, which assists municipalities in southeastern Pennsylvania with ongoing efforts to protect and improve open land.

Including this grant, PECO has identified 15 different projects from across the Philadelphia region to receive more than $110,000 in Green Region grants this summer.  Since the Green Region program’s beginning in 2005, PECO has provided nearly a half million dollars toward qualifying projects.

“PECO is proud to support programs that improve our environment and the quality of life for our customers,” said Denis O’Brien, PECO president and CEO.  “It is pleasing to know that by working together we can identify ways to improve the environment throughout the region.”

Municipalities may apply for a Green Region grant of up to $10,000 per project.  A committee, which includes representatives from PECO, Exelon, county agencies and conservation organizations, reviews applications and issues the grants.  The grant program is administered by Natural Lands Trust, the region’s largest land conservation organization.