Year in Review
10 Victories for Nashville Trees in 2020
Bur oak trees at McMinnville’s Hale & Hines Nursery, which donated hundreds of trees to the Nashville tornado recovery effort.
Most of us will be glad to see 2020 hit the door. It’s been a rough year, bad news, a trainwreck. But there ARE bright spots, even in the worst of times. And in a year that brought a powerful tornado, a derecho that downed hundreds of trees and a devastating pandemic, we’re here to celebrate all the good things that have happened in 2020 to ensure that Nashville will be a greener city in the decades ahead. Join us in toasting all the volunteers and dedicated tree advocates who have made a difference for Nashville trees this year!
Here are 10 Ways Nashville Trees Benefitted this Year
1. Operation Overstory distributed 1,000 trees to 300 Nashville households in 45 days to replace trees damaged or destroyed in the March tornado and May derecho (windstorm). This program of the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps allows anyone in a storm-affected neighborhood to request a tree at no cost.
2. Hale & Hines Nursery, a family tree farm near McMinnville, TN, donated more than 1,500 trees to the Nashville replanting effort after the tornado.
3. In May, NTCC worked with dedicated volunteers to plant 120 trees at Lockeland Springs Park, a 3-acre pocket park in East Nashville that was heavily damaged by the tornado.
4. The Metro Council passed a Street Tree Ordinance in July that mandates trees be planted along sidewalks at new commercial and multi-family residential developments in all densely developed parts of Davidson County. Previously, street trees were required only in the downtown core.
5. NTCC’s Farm-to-Yard Tree Sale continues to deliver hundreds of trees to Nashville homes directly from area tree farms, giving homeowners a cost-saving means to build the city's tree canopy. The program moved 460 trees during the previous planting season (Oct. 2019 to April 2020) and is on track to top that number during the current season. Order a tree today as a holiday gift for yourself – or someone you care about!
6. Planting began this fall on the Shelby Avenue Arboretum, which will add more than 500 trees to Shelby Avenue and adjoining streets. Volunteers pitched in to launch this exciting program in November with an incredible two-day planting effort.
Donated trees are prepared for transfer from the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office staging area to Operation Overstory.
7. NTCC received approval for more than $100,000 in grants from government agencies and nonprofits in 2020 to support our tree advocacy and planting efforts. These grants include a $45,000 USDA Specialty Block Grant for the Shelby Avenue Arboretum and $25,000 for Operation Overstory from the Community Founcation of Middle Tennessee's Emergency Respnose Fund.
8. NTCC continued to lead the way in advocating for and developing new ordinances to protect Nashville’s trees, with three bills currently in the works. These bills would set restrictions on clear-cutting, limit removal of public trees and establish tree density requirements in new subdivisions. Follow our updates in 2021 to learn more about the important work ahead to strengthen Nashville's tree code.
9. The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office Horticulture Program created a new nursery area with an irrigation system to keep donated trees watered and tended while they’re awaiting planting at various Metro Nashville locations.
10. In November, The Turnip Truck, a natural foods grocery store with three Nashville locations, began giving customers the option to round up on their purchases and donate the difference to NTCC’s Operation Overstory. From these “little acorn” donations, big oaks will grow!
Volunteers plant trees at the launch of the Shelby Avenue Arboretum.