Grid Magazine, a publication focused on sustainability culture in Philadelphia, recently commissioned me to photograph Jacelyn Blank, co-founder of Philly Tree People, for a story on Philadelphia’s urban tree canopy in their February 2025 issue. Philly Tree People is one of the largest non-profit tree tending groups in Philadelphia; volunteer members plant new trees as well as maintain existing trees throughout the city.
I was asked to make portraits with Jacelyn in her home neighborhood of Kensington. I photographed her with several trees that her group planted, as well as in a community garden space that she runs.
-Matt
