Pittsburgh is set to welcome between 500,000 and 700,000 visitors for the 2026 NFL Draft, scheduled for April 23–25. Before the first pick is called, however, a quieter story is unfolding across the region’s parks, riverwalks, and underserved neighborhoods — one rooted in trees, food security, and civic greening. The Pittsburgh Local Organizing Committee (POC) released its Environmental and Sustainability Legacy Plan on March 9, 2026, outlining a coordinated set of conservation investments designed to outlast the event itself. Colcom Foundation, the Pittsburgh-based private foundation established in 1996 by the late Cordelia Scaife May, is among the philanthropic supporters backing key elements of the effort.
A Greening Initiative With Roots Before Draft Week
The most visible component of the plan centers on urban forestry. The POC has partnered with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy to plant 500 trees across Pittsburgh and Allegheny County as part of the Draft’s environmental legacy. The Heinz Endowments is funding WPC’s contribution of 400 large-caliper trees, with planting underway in the Strip District as of March 21 and in McKeesport as of March 28. Those efforts will continue through spring 2027, prioritizing neighborhoods where canopy gaps are most pronounced, including Homewood, Beltzhoover, Hazelwood, Garfield, McKeesport, Clairton, and Penn Hills.
“Trees bring so many benefits to communities — cleaner air and water, improved human health and wildlife habitat, cooler temperatures in summer, and higher property values in neighborhoods,” said Jeff Bergman, WPC’s associate vice president of urban forestry and community greening.
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy will plant the remaining 100 trees, each receiving maintenance, watering, and care for two full years. WPC’s work draws on the TreeVitalize Pittsburgh framework, which has produced more than 42,000 plantings across Western Pennsylvania with the support of more than 18,600 volunteers.
Separate from the large-caliper planting program, a beautification push backed by Eden Hall, Laurel, and Colcom Foundation includes the installation of 400 hanging flower baskets across Downtown and the three Sister Bridges, along with 420 street planters filled with black and gold pansies. WPC will also plant trees and seasonal plants at the new General Robinson Community Flower Garden, a space being developed ahead of Draft week.
Colcom Foundation’s Long-Term Investment in Pittsburgh’s Urban Tree Canopy
The foundation’s involvement in the Draft’s greening effort is consistent with a decade-long track record. Founded by the late Cordelia Scaife May and based in Pittsburgh, Colcom Foundation has directed significant resources toward land conservation, watershed remediation, habitat protection, and urban greening throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. Its partnership with WPC produced the Pittsburgh Redbud Project, launched in 2016 and funded initially to mark the foundation’s 20th anniversary.
That project has since planted more than 3,770 native eastern redbuds and complementary trees along Pittsburgh’s three rivers, trails, and open spaces, alongside nearly 12,000 native perennial shrubs and grasses. “The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has helped make Pittsburgh a springtime destination to celebrate the spectacular redbud blooms,” said John Barsotti, Colcom Foundation’s president and chief investment officer. Bergman described the project’s ecological rationale plainly: “Through the lens of landscape architecture, it takes an ecologically valuable tree to enhance public landscapes. The redbud addressed the aesthetics and the ecological benefits we were seeking as a conservancy.”
The Draft’s timing adds an unplanned layer of resonance: eastern redbuds reach full bloom in mid-to-late April, precisely when hundreds of thousands of visitors will be traversing the North Shore and downtown riverfront. “The eastern redbuds will be in full bloom,” said Derek Dawson, vice president of strategic initiatives for VisitPittsburgh. “They accentuate our iconic skyline and will create a perfect backdrop for all of the events throughout the city.”
Food Recovery and Litter Remediation Round Out the Strategy
Beyond greening, the POC’s sustainability plan addresses two other environmental pressure points: food waste and roadside litter. In partnership with 412 Food Rescue — with program support underwritten by The Heinz Endowments — the committee plans to redirect an estimated 60,000 pounds of surplus food from sanctioned Draft events to local nonprofits. Using the organization’s Food Rescue Hero technology platform, volunteer drivers will route perishable donations to neighbors experiencing food insecurity. Organizers estimate the effort will deliver the equivalent of approximately 50,000 meals.
“This city is a hub for both technological innovation and community activation,” said Alyssa Cholodofsky, CEO of 412 Food Rescue. “When you put the right tools in the hands of committed volunteers, regular people can turn potential waste into abundance at an extraordinary scale.” Founded in 2015, the organization has diverted more than 39 million pounds of food from Western Pennsylvania landfills, preventing more than 83 million pounds of CO₂ emissions in the process.
The plan also includes a four-mile corridor cleanup from Pittsburgh International Airport into the city, executed by Allegheny CleanWays through its Immaculate Collection initiative — a litter remediation program the POC is sponsoring ahead of Draft week.
Taken together, the plan positions Pittsburgh’s largest tourism event not as a one-time spectacle but as a catalyst for durable environmental investment. For Colcom Foundation, whose regional grant-making has long supported grassroots watershed groups, urban tree canopy programs, and community livability initiatives across southwestern Pennsylvania, the Draft’s environmental legacy plan offers a visible illustration of what sustained philanthropic involvement in place-based conservation can produce over time.
For more information, visit NFLDraftPittsburgh.com and colcomfdn.org.
