Academy Town Square

Academy Town Square: Tending the Canopy

A family walking down the parkway on a street surrounded by trees.

Thursday, February 5, 2026
6-7:30 p.m.

6 p.m. Meet some of the Philadelphians who work to support our tree canopy at Science Live
6:30 p.m. Panel discussion moderated by WHYY's Maiken Scott

Moderator:

Maiken Scott, Host and Executive Producer, WHYY’s The Pulse

Panelists:

Erica Smith, Community Forestry Manager at Philadelphia Parks & Recreation
Dominique London, Executive Director of UC Green
Daniel Preziosi, Director of Trees at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

Trees line many Philadelphia streets and shade neighborhood parks and green spaces. The trees make our city more breathable and livable, help cool our neighborhoods during the warmest months and, according to studies, support both our mental and physical health. The Philadelphia urban tree canopy sustains life, proliferating biodiversity and mitigating against climate change by sequestering carbon. In our next Academy Town Square, Tending the Canopy, WHYY’s Maiken Scott speaks with three experts who illuminate how and why trees are planted and what it takes to sustain a healthy urban forest.

Highlights:

Erica Smith, Community Forestry Manager at Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, will ground us with an overview of the 10-year strategic tree plan launched in 2023.
Dominique London, Executive Director of UC Green, will help unpack the barriers to planting and how communities can overcome them at the city’s largest tree-tending community organization.
Daniel Preziosi, Director of Trees at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, will share how PHS provides essential resources that support and grow our urban canopy.

Gain a deeper appreciation for Philadelphia’s trees, learn practical ways to support our urban forest and leave with clear guidance on how to have a tree planted in your neighborhood.

More About our Panelists

Dominique London

Dominique London is the Executive Director of UC Green, the largest tree-tending organization in Philadelphia, where she leads citywide efforts to expand and care for the urban forest through community-driven tree planting and stewardship. A proud West Philadelphia native, she is dedicated to building greener, healthier and more equitable neighborhoods. She holds two master’s degrees, one in City and Regional Planning from Temple University and another in Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine. This multidisciplinary foundation informs her holistic approach to environmental justice, community health and urban policy. In addition to her environmental leadership, she has played a significant role in advancing housing justice in Philadelphia. In 2020, she authored legislation to seal eviction records and contributed to the development of the city’s Just Cause legislation, supporting stronger protections for tenants across the city. As a Neighborhood Ambassador in Kingsessing, she provided key insights that helped shape the Philadelphia Tree Plan. She also stewards a community garden in Southwest Philadelphia, nurturing fresh produce, local biodiversity, and community connection. Outside of her professional work, she enjoys Vegan cooking and hiking in the Wissahickon with her dog, Tripp.

Daniel Preziosi

Daniel Preziosi is Director of Trees at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, bringing 15+ years of experience in horticulture, green infrastructure and team leadership. Formerly Director of Grounds at New Orleans City Park, he led operations across horticulture, sanitation and volunteer engagement. He holds a B.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences from UMass Amherst and completed Urban Park Leadership training through CUNY. A New Jersey native, Daniel enjoys fishing, woodworking and exploring the Wissahickon with his family.

Erica Smith

Erica Smith has spent her career connecting people with plants. As the City Forester at Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, she oversees many projects, including the TreePhilly Community Forestry program, street and park tree planting and maintenance and emergency tree work. She was also the project lead for the Philly Tree Plan, a 10-year strategic plan for the equitable growth and care of Philadelphia’s urban forest, which was released in 2023. She is an ISA certified arborist and the recipient of the Arbor Day Foundation's 2018 Trailblazer Award. Erica received a B.S. in biology from Haverford College and an M.S. in environmental horticulture from the University of California, Davis.

Dinosaurs in Your Backyard: Hadrosaurus foulkii and Other Local Marvels

Haddy has returned! The new mount of Hadrosaurus foulkii, the first dinosaur skeleton ever publicly displayed in the world, is back on view in the Academy of Natural Science’s Dinosaur Hall.

And this dinosaur is significant for our region in more ways than one!

Hadrosaurus foulkii was excavated in 1858 in Haddonfield, New Jersey, by Academy scientists Joseph Leidy and William Parker Foulke after large bones were found in a farmer’s marl pit (a pit that was a source for agricultural fertilizer). At the time, the fossil was considered nearly complete, with only the skull missing. Studying the pelvis and the four-foot thigh bone, Leidy made a groundbreaking observation: Hadrosaurus walked on two legs and would have stretched about 25 feet in length.

With this revolutionary insight, the British artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins created a full cast of the skeleton under Leidy’s direction. And in 1868, the Academy became the first institution in the world where the public could see a mounted dinosaur on display. Lines circled the block!

While Hadrosaurus foulkii was the first dinosaur in the group to be discovered, many more species of hadrosaurids are known today. They get their nickname as the “duck-billed” dinosaurs from their wide and flat snouts. The plant-eater was later declared New Jersey’s official state dinosaur, and the site where it was discovered is a national historic landmark. Although hadrosaurids originated in North America, their movements across land bridges resulted in their eventual presence on all seven continents.

Past Academy Town Squares

Academy Town Square: Stemming the Tide: How Philly Is Preparing for Floods in a Changing Climate

Join us for the next Academy Town Square, where WHYY’s Maiken Scott moderates a powerful conversation with city officials and community organizers who are working to build resilience plans to reduce the impacts of climate change in Philadelphia neighborhoods. Learn how grassroots and institutional efforts are converging to protect communities like Germantown — now among the most vulnerable in the nation to urban flash flooding — from the growing impacts of climate change. The conversation will invite audiences into Philadelphia's historic watersheds to explore how the city's past informs its future and how stakeholders like you can help address a climate challenge over 150 years in the making.

Academy Town Square: Birding Is for Everyone

Join the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC) and the Academy of Natural Sciences in welcoming Dexter Patterson — also known as the Wisco Birder — for a heartfelt and inspiring session on the power of birdwatching to connect, heal and uplift. With his signature joy and dynamic storytelling, Dexter shares how discovering birds led him on a journey of healing, purpose and community building.

You’ll learn how birding promotes mental wellness, environmental stewardship and meaningful social connection. From beginner tips to inclusive outreach strategies, Dexter offers practical insight and personal stories illustrating how watching birds can open hearts and build bridges.

Reflecting on his journey, from reconnecting with nature to co-founding the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, Dexter shares how providing opportunities for others outdoors has ignited a growing movement. Whether you're an experienced birder or simply curious, this talk will remind you that nature is for everyone — even you.

Academy Town Square: Reading the Rocks: How Geology Tells the Earth’s Story

Our planet is so old, it’s hard to wrap your head around – let alone fathom how short our lifespans on earth are – when compared with just about anything in the realm of geology. Join us for the WHYY & Academy Town Square where Maiken Scott explores with geologist and author Marcia Bjornerud how thinking like a geologist can have immeasurable impacts beyond our time.

Conscious Fashion: Weaving a Sustainable Future

A cozy sweater to match your jeans, a new scarf to go with your coat, a few stylish shirts for the gym and maybe those cute yoga pants — shopping for clothes is fun, and depending on your tastes, affordable. But there are bigger costs than the price tag you see at the store. Every item in your closet has gone through many steps in a complex production process, from harvesting fibers, dyeing, and sewing to shipping and sales. And each step for these garments has major environmental consequences.

On Thursday, January 30, join us for a Town Square discussion on clothing and where it comes from. WHYY's Maiken Scott will chat about sustainable fashion with Heidi Barr, co-founder and CEO of PA Flax Project; Rachel Higgins, co-founder of PA Fibershed and instructor at Drexel University in the fashion industry and merchandising program; and Kimberly McGlonn, designer, CEO of NOOR by Grant Blvd and author. They will talk about their work in the fashion industry and address the challenges we face together in building a local, more sustainable supply chain.

Academy Town Square: Planting for the Future

In neighborhoods across Philadelphia, communities from the Philippines, Burma, Puerto Rico, Vietnam and the African Diaspora steward gardens and farms filled with ancestral plants, where cultural heritage and community science converge

Join us for the next Academy Town Square where Maiken Scott, host of WHYY’s The Pulse, speaks with seedkeepers, farmers and botanists who share how preserving ethnobotanical histories and practices help to advance science and expand our understanding of the natural world — and ourselves. This conversation is in conjunction with Heirloom Plants: Ancestral Seeds in Philadelphia, an exhibition in our Spotlight Gallery on view through February 17, 2025.

Academy Town Square: A Transforming Earth: The Legacy of the Devonian Period

Join us for a deep dive into Earth’s remarkable history on Thursday, September 26, timed with the closing weekend of our exhibition Life Onto Land: The Devonian, which is on view through Sunday, September 29.

In this in-depth Academy Town Square conversation, you’ll hear about the Devonian, a transformational period hundreds of millions of years before the age of the dinosaur — when Earth’s forests first began to appear and first limbed animals emerged. Learn about this fascinating time from Academy scientist Ted Daeschler, paleoecologist Diana Boyer and paleobotanist Jonathan Wilson, whose research contributes to our shared understanding of evolution and Earth's history.

Academy Town Square: Long Live Sturgeon! (And Other Amazing Fish of the Delaware River Basin)

Academy Town Square that originally took place February 15, 2024. A conversation hosted by WHYY’s Maiken Scott on the Atlantic Sturgeon, a fish that “epitomizes the global biodiversity crisis,” as well as other vulnerable fishes in the mid-Atlantic region. Panelists include Mariangeles Arce H. of the Academy, David Keller of the Academy, Eric J. Hilton of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and Dewayne Fox of Delaware State University.

Academy Town Square: Grasslands: Restoring Bird Habitat

Maiken Scott, host of WHYY's The Pulse, and bird conservationist Zoe Warner discuss a 10-year study conducted in Chester County that has led to greater insights into bird habitat needs and a visionary plan to protect them.

Academy Town Square: Lights Out Philly

During the fall 2020 migration season, a perfect storm of events led to the tragic deaths of thousands of birds from window strikes. This sorrowful occurrence galvanized a volunteer group called Bird Safe Philly, which is determined to prevent something similar from happening again.

Through their Lights Out Philly campaign, the group was able to convince many of the city’s building owners to turn out their lights at night during the spring and fall migration periods.

Join us for a conversation hosted by Sophia Schmidt, environmental reporter for WHYY, to better understand the challenges that birds face in urban environments and the ways that we can better protect them.

Academy Town Square Presents: Flooding in Philadelphia's Eastwick Community

In this special Academy Town Square, residents of Eastwick will share their challenges as well as their determined spirit — describing the history of a remarkable community organizing effort and raising awareness of what we can do to support it.

Academy Town Square Presents: More Livable Communities in an Era of Climate Change

As we adapt to our changing climate, unexpected benefits may follow — especially for marginalized communities. Efforts to reduce heating and flooding bring more green spaces that are known to strengthen mental health and improve communities.

Emergency preparedness efforts create more accessible areas for older and disabled members of the community. Join us to explore how these solutions to climate change provide an opportunity for equity to marginalized Black and Latino communities.

Views and opinions expressed by the speakers are solely their own and do not necessarily represent any associated institutions.

Academy Town Square Presents: Preparing for a Warmer, Wetter Philadelphia

Climate change is causing Philadelphia not only to heat up, but also to experience more frequent and intense flooding events.

In this program we’ll explore how local communities are dealing with increasing temperatures exacerbated by the urban heat island effect; natural cycles of flooding; and how urbanization and climate change impact flooding risks in our city. But where there are challenges, there are people ready to step up and face them.

Find out how, from community groups to city government, Philadelphians are making efforts to understand and mitigate the effects of a warmer, wetter Philadelphia.

Academy Town Square Presents: Gideon Mendel Drowning World

Gideon Mendel joined us for an Academy Town Square on May 6 to discuss his engagement with social issues as a photographer and artist, including the challenge of making climate change visible.

Academy Town Square Presents: Voting for the Environment

“Voting for the Environment,” a free program in the Academy Town Square series, features a roundtable discussion with leaders of the League of Conservation Voters, Clean Air Council, and other key environmental and advocacy organizations.

Learn about the important issues that affect the local and global environment and how the upcoming election will influence them. Join us for this interactive discussion that will help you become a better citizen.