Tree Planters
Any nonprofit, individual, Metro department, business, or other organization can count their newly planted trees towards the citywide Root Nashville goal. Ongoing and diverse planting efforts put us closer to reaching the campaign’s ambitious benchmarks — making Nashville a healthier, more equitable, beautiful, resilient city.
In addition to campaign leadership by the Cumberland River Compact and Metro Nashville, Nashville benefits from many local nonprofits with tree-focused missions and Metro departments who plant trees. Learn more below, and explore planting locations and numbers on the online TreePlotter map by selecting “Display by: Program” on the right.
We encourage Nashvillians to follow the work of all these tree-planters and contributors to the Root Nashville campaign, and join volunteer planting efforts during the months of October through March every planting season.
Nonprofits
Mission: “Our mission is to enhance the health and enjoyment of the Cumberland River and its tributaries through action, education, and collaboration.”
As the day-to-day operations lead of the Root Nashville campaign, the Cumberland River Compact manages overarching campaign efforts. The Compact makes sure the Neighborhood Planting Captains have the resources they need to reforest our city, including trees and volunteers to help plant them. Planting efforts are focused on private properties in campaign impact areas to create an equitable canopy distribution. To ensure newly planted trees survive to provide the human and environmental health benefits our city needs, the Cumberland River Compact also manages a Tree Care Program.
Mission: “Nashville Tree Conservation Corps (NTCC) works to promote, preserve, protect, and plant the urban tree canopy in Davidson County.”
Wondering about latest advocacy efforts related to trees, and how you can get involved? Check out the Tree Corps. The all-volunteer driven nonprofit is focused on preservation and protection of Nashville’s tree resources. Their tree planting efforts are focused on high-impact projects and programs, such as the Shelby Avenue Arboretum, replanting in Lockeland Springs Park, the Farm-to-Yard Tree Sale, and Operation Overstory.
Mission: “The Nashville Tree Foundation works to preserve and enhance Nashville’s urban forests by planting trees in urban areas, identifying the oldest and largest trees in Davidson County, and educating the public about the value of trees.”
The Nashville Tree Foundation (NTF) is our city’s oldest tree-focused nonprofit and leads the Big Old Tree Contest, the annual ReLeafing Day, the Green Shirt volunteer leader program, and Tree Fest tree giveaways. Through official partnerships with Metro Schools and Parks, NTF hosts numerous planting events each year on public lands. NTF is a founding member of the Root Nashville Advisory Board.
Mission: “Engaging Individuals and Communities to Improve Our Environment and Public Health”
In addition to many other programs that support a vision of a Tennessee where people and nature thrive in harmony, the Tennessee Environmental Council (TEC) organizes the Tennessee Tree Day in March, procuring and distributing thousands of bare-root seedlings statewide. Davidson County participants can count their Tree Day trees towards the Root Nashville campaign goal one year after planting.
Government Departments
Mission: “As a law enforcement agency committed to public safety, we strive to be the leader in the field of corrections, service of civil process, and innovative community-based programs, emphasizing: Accountability, Diversity, Integrity, and Professionalism.”
The DSCO horticulture program grows fresh produce for Second Harvest Food Bank, Vine Hill Clinic, and Percy Priest Clinic — producing 5,000 pounds of produce for these locations each year. An extension of this effort is the arboriculture program, which nurtures hundreds of seedlings and saplings each year, which are distributed to community groups, individuals, and nonprofits. In partnership with Metro Water Services, the program has also added a gravel bed in order to care for bare-root trees.
Mission: “General Services delivers an array of services to all departments and agencies of the Metro Nashville Government. Their Metro Facilities Maintenance and Operations Division is responsible for the management of approximately 3.5 million square feet of building space. General Services’ Division of Sustainability integrates sustainable practices throughout the department’s projects and operations with the goal to reduce energy, waste, carbon, and greenhouse gas emissions.”
General Services plants and cares for trees on the properties they manage, including health department locations and library branches. They promote urban forestry through their sustainability education program, Socket.
Mission: “It is the mission of Metro Parks and Recreation to sustainably and equitably provide everyone in Nashville with an inviting network of parks and greenways that offer health, wellness and quality of life through recreation, conservation and community.”
Metro Parks and Recreation manages thousands of acres of woodlands and forested canopy all over Davidson County, and plants and maintains hundreds of trees each year. Nonprofit tree-planters often partner with this department as well.
Mission: “The mission of the Department of Public Works is to deliver a wide range of services that help define the quality of life for Nashville and Davidson County’s residents, businesses and visitors by ensuring a safe and convenient complete streets transportation infrastructure; protecting the environment; and creating cleaner, beautiful, and more livable neighborhoods.”
Metro Public Works is responsible for trees in the public right-of-way. Through the Metro Beautification and Environment Commission, MPW also coordinates the Metro Tree Advisory Committee.
Mission: “To supply, treat, manage, and protect our water resources in a sustainable manner for the benefit of all who live, work, and play in our community.”
Metro Water Services is the lead Metro department in the Root Nashville campaign and is the city’s hub for urban forestry efforts. They oversee the street tree inventory and the urban canopy studies. Metro Water contributes significantly towards the tree-planting goals — especially on flood buyout sites.
Special thanks to these additional contributors and partners as well:
All Seasons Landscaping
Beard Property Maintenance
Cheekwood
Epperson’s Lawn and Landscape
Ghertner & Company
Green Interchange
Greenways for Nashville
GROW Enrichment
Metro Codes Administration
Metro Nashville Public Schools
Nashville Electric Service
Tennessee Department of Transportation
Tennessee Division of Forestry
Tennessee State University
Tennessee Society of Landscape Architects
Tennessee Tree and Shrub
Tennessee Urban Forestry Council
TreeCycle at Trevecca Nazarene University
