Delaware County, Pennsylvania Case Study

“There was a lot of concern about tree loss due to development,” said Becca Yurkovich, County Sustainability Officer. “But we didn’t have the data to act, just anecdotal stories. We needed a comprehensive snapshot.”

Funded by a Commonwealth Financing Authority’s Local Share Account Grant, the county selected SavATree to conduct the assessment, trusting the company’s track record with other municipalities and reputation for delivering high-quality, actionable data.

Challenges

Delaware County’s undertaking was ambitious, not only in scope but in its intention to serve a highly complex and fragmented region.

“We’re a county of 49 municipalities, with over half a million constituents,” Yurkovich explained. “Some areas are extremely urban, others more rural. That kind of diversity makes it very hard to implement county-wide strategies without good data.” The team needed a partner who could navigate the scale of the project, while also customizing the output for hyper-local decision-making.

Compounding the complexity was the lack of a baseline. “We had no clear picture of our existing canopy,” Yurkovich shared. “We only had fragmented feedback, like residents saying, ‘We used to have trees here,’ or ‘That block’s getting paved over.’ We had no hard data to back it up.”

As a government agency, the county also faced strict procurement rules and a limited budget. “We initially went through a full RFP process, but the bids were unaffordable,” Yurkovich said. “SavATree worked with us directly to create a scope and contract that aligned with what we could do. That flexibility was huge.”

Solutions

SavATree collaborated closely with the Office of Sustainability and the county’s GIS team to deliver a customized and community-friendly tree canopy assessment. Key components included:

• Collaborative Project Scoping
  SavATree partnered with the county to define a clear, focused scope and strategically reduce cost without compromising data quality. “They asked us: What can your internal staff do? What should we handle?” Yurkovich said. “It wasn’t about making the sale; it was about making it work.”
  
  

• Biweekly Status Updates
  Project lead Mike Galvin provided consistent, phased updates every two weeks. “That level of communication was rare,” said Yurkovich. “I never had to chase the team down. They were proactive and professional.”
  
  

• Data Visualization Across Four Scales
  The final dataset included mapping broken down by municipality, census tract, census block group, and uniform hexagons, allowing for analysis across different lenses. “Seeing the data laid out in four different ways was my ‘aha’ moment,” said Yurkovich. “It gave us the flexibility to engage both technical planners and everyday residents.”
  
  

• Inclusive Final Presentation 
  SavATree concluded the project with a presentation and opened it up to 20 community members who wanted to attend. “They didn’t have to do that,” Yurkovich said. “But it meant a lot. They took the time to hear our community and even adjusted the final product based on the feedback.”

 

Results

Released publicly on October 9, 2025, the tree canopy inventory quickly became a touchstone for Delaware County’s environmental planning efforts. One of the most surprising findings? The county retained 43% of its tree canopy, with only 2.5% lost over the last decade. “We went in expecting bad news,” Yurkovich admitted. “What we found was a lot more encouraging. It gave people hope.”

The way the data was structured proved especially powerful. “Community members were thrilled they could pull data for their specific municipality,” Yurkovich said. “It wasn’t just a big-picture overview; it was a tool people could use locally. The hexagon maps, in particular, helped move the conversation away from town-by-town comparisons and toward understanding county-wide trends,” she added.

Equity-focused overlays showed where low-income and marginalized communities had the least canopy, guiding future investments and supporting grant applications. The study is now being used to inform Delaware County’s 10-year Comprehensive Plan, the guiding document for land-use and sustainability decisions across the region.

“We’re already seeing residents use the data to figure out where to plant trees,” Yurkovich said. “People want to help. They just needed the tools to do it smartly.”

Looking Ahead

Delaware County sees SavATree as a long-term partner. While this study focused on canopy coverage, future work may include species identification, health assessments, and deeper field analysis.

“The county is comfortable pointing our municipalities to SavATree,” Yurkovich noted. “It’s reassuring to know we have a trusted partner with both the expertise and integrity to support this work over time.”

When asked if she had any advice for other government agencies taking on this type of project, Yurkovich shared, “Start with a clear scope. Know what the study is and what it isn’t. Think about your audience. Is it internal staff or the public? SavATree helped us translate complex data into something actionable. That’s what made it so powerful.”

About Delaware County’s Sustainability Department

The Office of Sustainability was created in 2021 to make Delaware County and its operations more sustainable and resilient to the effects of climate change. The department is doing this by examining government operations, engaging with the community, and working with the Sustainability Commission to implement Sustain Delco: A Sustainability Plan for Delaware County. To learn more, visit https://www.delcopa.gov/sustainability.

About SavATree

SavATree provides comprehensive tree, shrub, and lawn care services to commercial properties nationwide. Our certified arborists and professional crews deliver tailored solutions that enhance property value, safety, and aesthetic appeal. With a commitment to sustainability and customer satisfaction, SavATree is the premier choice for all your landscape care needs. For more information, visit www.savatree.com.