According to a report in yesterday’s Daily News, the city of Philadelphia has plans to give away 4,000 trees this year, free of charge, through a program organized by TreePhilly. What makes this initiative unique from any other tree programs that you may have heard about in the past is that these trees are specifically for the purpose of planting on private property, not in a cutout in the sidewalk.

TreePhilly, a product of the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department, is pursuing part of the mission of the Mayor’s Greenworks Philadelphia program. One of TreePhilly’s goals is to plant 15,000 new trees in Philadelphia in 2012. This particular program will see 2,000 trees distributed in the spring, and another 2,000 in the fall.

Interested parties can fill out a request form here. Requirements for the program include residency in Philadelphia, home ownership, available yard space that measures at least 10′ x 10′, and a commitment to plant the tree within fifteen days. People who receive trees must make a commitment to keeping the trees alive by agreeing to water the tree with twenty gallons of water per week for two years, and protect the tree from damage.

The program is targeting neighborhoods most in need of an improved tree-canopy, including Frankford, West Oak Lane, Tioga, Morrell Park, Whitman, Haddington, Kensington, and South Philadelphia. But it’s not exclusive to those neighborhoods.

So if you live someplace else and you have the space and the desire, you should definitely send in an application. Who wouldn’t want a brand new tree in their yard?