NASHVILLE – Nashville’s city-wide tree planting campaign, Root Nashville, celebrated a significant milestone in late October: the planting of the 20,000th tree since launching three years ago in October of 2018.
The milestone tree was part of a canopy restoration project in the Lincoya Hills neighborhood in Donelson, a neighborhood that sustained severe canopy loss from the March 2020 tornado.
The planting event was made possible by Ascend Federal Credit Union, who generously funded the planting of 70 trees as part of their own milestone 70th anniversary. The grassroots planting campaign, led by the Cumberland River Compact and Metro Nashville and supported by local tree organizations, relies on partners like Ascend to help reach the campaign goal of planting 500,000 trees by 2050.
“We’re proud to partner with the Root Nashville campaign, as it aligns perfectly with Ascend’s mission to support our neighbors and help the Middle Tennessee communities we serve,” said Ascend President and CEO Caren Gabriel. “The tree donation is also one more way to give back and commemorate our long-standing commitment to being a good environmental and financial steward.”
Tens of thousands of trees were lost to the March 2020 tornado event. As Davidson County continues to replant, the need for plantings on private property is crucial to maintaining and enhancing the tree canopy.
With the majority of Metro property replanted (6% of Davidson County) partners like Ascend help to fund plantings on privately owned property, like the homes in tornado-impacted neighborhoods.
“All the partners in the Root Nashville campaign have contributed to this 20,000th tree,” said Cumberland River Compact Executive Director Mekayle Houghton. “We are grateful to all of Nashville’s tree nonprofits, corporate partners, and every neighborhood leader who stepped up to help increase canopy in their neighborhood. We’re on track to plant the next 20,000 trees!”
The Cumberland River Compact and Root Nashville partners will continue to plant thousands of trees in Nashville neighborhoods, prioritizing tornado-impacted neighborhoods and expanding to low-canopy areas, to achieve a more equitable canopy distribution across the city. Metro Water Services is leading efforts to plant iconic groupings of street trees, to slow down and soak up stormwater runoff.
To learn more, visit rootnashville.org. The campaign accepts applications for Neighborhood Planting Captains on a rolling basis. Visit rootnashville.org/organize to learn more and apply to bring trees to your own neighborhood.
