The 2023/24 Year

Between October 2023 and February 2024, the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps has delivered and planted 850 trees (and counting!) across Nashville through our annual tree sale! If you’d still like to purchase a tree this winter, we’re taking orders through mid-March, and any orders received afterward will be delivered in the fall.

NTCC’s Partnership With Root Nashville

It's been an exceptionally busy few months, made more fulfilling by the fact that 550 of these trees were provided completely free of charge to the residents of Davidson County, thanks to our partnerships with Root Nashville and Metro Water Nashville. Through the Root Nashville program and the generosity of our various funders, as well as the collaboration with Cumberland River Compact and Metro Water Services, we've been able to make a significant environmental impact.

Nashville’s Favorite Trees

We talked to Kate Jacks, NTCC’s operations manager, to learn more about the sale’s successes. She told us, “Of the hundreds of trees we planted this year, the most popular was the tulip poplar! This has been the case since our farm-to-yard tree sale was launched in 2017. In addition to the tulip poplar, this year we saw lots of magnolias, cherries, arborvitaes, maples, oaks, and ginkgos get planted.”

The Canopy’s Network

Kate attributes NTCC’s tree sale success to the organization’s “strong community network.” She says, “Some people have approached NTCC after seeing updates on social media or subscribing to our email newsletter, while others learned about us through word of mouth, telling neighbors and work colleagues about the program. It’s really been an organically driven process so far, and we hope to continue to grow and reach even more people.”

On the topic of community-driven planting, Kate shares her impressions from accompanying tree deliveries to both new and returning customers. “We see the same houses over the years, and we check on the trees to see how they’re growing. It really speaks to the quality of service and the quality of trees that we deliver to see people keep sourcing trees from us year after year.”

Planting for the Long Term

People plant trees for a variety of reasons, from the need for some shade to wanting to beautify their lawns or contribute to the environment in general. No matter the reason, planting trees is an important accompaniment to residential and commercial development to make sure there is enough green space to keep the local canopy ecosystem healthy. We recognize that everyone needs a home, which is why it’s so important to work with developers to find a happy medium where houses, trees, animals, and people can coexist. 

Kate shared a story of one homeowner who stopped to chat while she was on a delivery trip and checking on other trees that had been planted. “One homeowner got to know NTCC through a fight to save trees on the border of their property from a developer who wanted to remove them. With NTCC, they were able to save the mature trees on the border of the property, and the developer changed the plans for the foundation of the new construction in order to protect the roots of the trees. There is legislation out there that can help protect the trees on your property in these situations, and the community is learning about it, making real change by sharing stories and connections with trees.”

This story underlines that canopy maintenance has as much to do with the conservation of trees (by keeping healthy, mature trees in place) as it does with planting new ones! 

Residential Property and Neighborhood Canopies 

Customers of NTCC’s tree sale are mainly homeowners, and this illustrates another important point about conservation in Nashville: most of the city’s green space is located on private property, which makes up over 90% of Nashville’s land. This puts a lot of responsibility onto property owners to care for their yards, which is why NTCC is here—to help make it both a priority and a pleasant experience to manage our canopy’s trees. As Kate said on the matter, “The more people we can get on board to plant trees in their yards and help water them while they get established over the first two to three years, the bigger impact we can make. It makes all the difference in the city.”

Last Call for Trees for 2023/24!

There’s still some time left to order a tree through the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps’ tree sale this year! We will stop taking orders for the 2023/24 planting season by mid-March. Any orders placed after mid-March 2024 will be delivered in the fall! 

You can also donate a tree or volunteer with us to support tree plantings and maintenance across Nashville. In either case, subscribers to our email newsletter receive regular updates on NTCC’s activities, information about Nashville’s canopy, and care tips for the trees under our responsibility.

We want to extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone in our community who made this a great year for local trees and for NTCC. We can’t wait for the upcoming season!