The first tree planted by the Root Nashville campaign
In last week’s Scene cover story, staff reporter Eli Motycka described the existential struggle of Nashville’s tree-canopy advocates — the arborists who are protecting our city’s trees not just from invasive species and other natural threats, but also humans. While rampant development of course poses a threat to our city’s green canopy, sometimes the culprit is simple ignorance. Often decades-old native-species trees are “topped” (a debilitating form of heavy trimming) or altogether removed because homeowners see them as an inconvenience.
Nonprofits, arborists and others are guarding our trees from invasive species, storms — and humans
Groups like the city-funded Root Nashville and nonprofits the Nashville Tree Foundation and the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps are on the front lines of the battle for Nashville’s trees. While Root does the direct and important work of planting trees (roughly 50,000 since its founding in 2019), the NTCC and the NTF focus on legal protections and education efforts. Meanwhile, city officials like Metro Councilmember Burkley Allen and Vice Mayor Angie Henderson push legislation to minimize preventable tree removal on construction sites and elsewhere, while for-profit tree-care experts like the folks at TreeSavvy preach the gospel of responsible tree care.
In addition to their obvious aesthetic appeal, native trees in urban spaces reduce soil erosion and runoff, improve air quality and reduce surface temperatures during the summer months. And so we have to recognize these modern-day urban Loraxes for their essential but often thankless work.
—D. Patrick Rodgers
Editor-in-Chief, Nashville Scene
Our notes of gratitude to animal rescue workers, arborists, homeless service providers and more
