Andrew Christy, a volunteer with the Abington Township Shade Tree Commission and co-owner of Homegrown Habitats in the township, donates the bulk of his profits to the Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust (PERT) of Upper Moreland Township.

Christy and his wife, Nicole Tomlinson, have been running the company since 2021.

“We started after we filled our yard with native plants and had some additional planting energy and interest,” Christy told Glenside Local. “Friends in the area have been asking for guidance in their own yards to provide better support for the birds and the bees, so we decided to start a small business to try to help people benefit.”

According to Christy, their business model asks clients to write a separate check to PERT.

“It was less overhead and administration. We ask our clients to pay us for expenses, we keep a little for ourselves, and the rest goes to the Pennypack Trust,” he said. “We view this as a volunteer outreach effort. We wanted people to increase their native plant diversity and their yards’ ecosystems while supporting all the work that Pennypack does.”

From Homegrown Habitat’s website:

Prior to the conclusion of the project, you will receive an invoice with the final project costs. The invoice will indicate the amount to be paid to Homegrown Habitats LLC and the amount to be donated to Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust (PERT). Payment (by check only) is due upon completion of the project, when all of the work set forth in the estimate is complete. We will provide you with a receipt after we deliver your check to PERT.

PERT, now just shy of 1,000 acres, completed the purchase the June Fete Fairground in Huntingdon Valley in June 2024. In May 2024, the nonprofit received a $300,000 open space grant to be used for the acquisition. 

“They’ve been doing a wonderful job,” Christy said.

Christy began volunteering with the Shade Tree Commission around the time he launched Homegrown Habitats. The biannual tree giveaways, through which 600 native trees are gifted to Abington Township residents, were his brainchild.

“It’s a collaborative effort. We usually have around 35 volunteers for those giveaways. It wasn’t a regular thing with a consistent, established process,” the South Jersey native said, noting that Abington’s “bird town” designation helped seal his and Nicole’s decision to relocate to greater Glenside.

“This seemed like a great location to be closer to family, and a closer commute to work. Turns out that Abington also has a nice tree canopy,” he said.

For more on Homegrown Habitats, you can visit their website. From the business’ description:

Homegrown Habitats is an ecological gardening practice that focuses on native plant garden designs in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Whether you want to start small or transform your entire space at once, we can design native plant gardens to fit your vision and your budget.

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Photos: Andrew Christy