Prince Albert II of Monaco visits mother's hometown Philadelphia for tree-planting ceremony
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Prince Albert II of Monaco was in Philadelphia -- his mother Grace Kelly's hometown -- on Thursday to talk about his foundation's impact on the Philadelphia Zoo's education programs and tout a partnership with the city's Parks and Recreation department to help the Philly Tree Plan.
Before his expected visit to the Philadelphia Zoo, Prince Albert visited Williams Moore Reed Memorial Park to celebrate Philadelphia Parks and Recreation and its work toward combating climate change.
The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation teamed up with the city and its Parks and Rec to announce a $130,000 grant for the Philly Tree Plan, the city's first-ever urban strategic plan.
The grant will further the work of the 10-year strategic plan to build an urban forest and tree canopy meant to combat climate change and address areas identified as high priority due to high heat, high asthma rates, lack of trees and more.
Philadelphia Zoo chief development officer Neil Batiancila touted the prince's foundation's work in "saving the natural world."
"This is a trip back for the prince. He was here years ago when he was a kid," Batiancila said. "But the foundation itself has been a leader globally in saving the natural world and they've been supporting us for a couple of years, making sure the next generation of conservation leaders are inspired here at the Philadelphia Zoo."
The last time Prince Albert was in Philly was in 2018 to bless Kelly's house that's now the regional headquarters for his foundation and for The Princess Grace Foundation.
But on Thursday, he ditched the fanfare for a baseball cap and golden shovel.
"I would like us all to take a moment and imagine this park when these trees are 100 feet tall and casting shade and providing oxygen for the people in this neighborhood," John Kelly III, the President of the US Chapter of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, said.
The passion project is close to Prince Albert's heart and relatively close to Kelly's East Falls childhood home.
"Honestly it's amazing we know that his foundation funded our programs but we didn't actually expect to meet him," Dani Hogan, the director of integration of the Philadelphia Zoo, said.
After leaving the park. the prince made his way to the Philadelphia Zoo.
At the zoo, he didn't get a closer look just at the reptiles, but the impact his foundation has had on many of the zoo's educational programs.
"We hope that the prince feels amazing about the work that his foundation is doing," Hogan said.
And that he does.
"The zoo is great and were so happy to help with the educational programs here and with the foundation, so it's really a pleasure," Prince Albert said.
