In February, Tennessee Environmental Council along with several member groups, partners and sponsors planted nearly 11,000 trees as part of our first 10K Tree Day. The event was so successful, we planted 10,000 MORE on March 9! Planting a tree is a simple act with TREEmendous benefits. Trees have a myriad of benefits – too many to list them all – but here are a few surprising and important facts:
- Communities with more trees have less crime and graffiti.
- Communities with more trees have less asthma and lung disease.
- Homes with a mature tree in the yard may be worth up to 10% more than a similar home without a mature tree.
- One tree can provide $130,750 in total benefits over 50 years including oxygen, air pollution control and reducing flooding.
We planted trees during the day on Feb 16 and March 9 at several locations throughout Middle TN and across the state. Click here to see pictures from our February event. Volunteers learned to plant trees through hands-on activity and will receive free Tshirts. We have several locations for planting across the middle Tennessee.
Click here to plant trees as a volunteer on FRI MARCH 8 in Lebanon
If your group would like to plant trees: Your group can join an existing planting site or help us set up a new site. We are currently in the process of recruiting partners. Partners may be asked to assist with:
- Bringing teams of volunteers to help plant trees
- Providing Tree Captains to help train and direct volunteers on-site
- Finding parks and other public spaces on which to plant trees (or you can join one of our sites)
- Helping with logistics for the tree planting including preparing the planting area and recruiting volunteer groups
- Helping provide tools, such as shovels, picks, and gloves
- Other responsibilities as outlined in the letter of agreement
In exchange, partners will receive the following benefits:
- Council will provide trees to partner groups
- Council will help recruit volunteers for your location
- Council will train “tree captains” for each event on January 25 or 26
- Your organization will be listed on the Council website
- Your organization will be listed on the event T-Shirt
- If your organization has a tree planting goal this event will help you reach it and/or your trees will count toward the Tennessee Tree project goal of 1 million trees.
- To sign up as a partner contact us at tec(at symbol)tectn.org with “10K Tree Day Partner” in subject line.
If you would like to be sponsor: This is a great opportunity for groups who want more promotional exposure OR for businesses and other organizations who want to support us but can’t plan tree planting logistics. Click here for sponsorship information. Sponsors may be entitled to the following benefits:
- Your logo on all promotional materials including: website, email announcements, event T-shirt, flyers and other materials.
- Council membership
- Banner (provided by sponsor) at event
- The Council is a 501c3 and sponsorship donations are tax deductible
This event was made possible by generous grants and support from the Dan and Margaret Maddox Charitable Foundation, TN Wildlife Resources Agency, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), TN Department of Agriculture’s Riparian Forest Buffer Program, National Wildlife Federation and Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The event is part of Tennessee Environmental Council’s Tennessee Tree Project with a goal of planting or caring for 1 million native trees in Tennessee. The event is also part of the Council’s Watershed Support Center including the Fish Habitat Restoration Initiative and the Urban Small Streams program. Shirts for this event were printed by Grand Palace Silkscreen.
Sponsors:
Partners:
Boys and Girls Club of Maury County
Bridgestone Firestone
Byars Dowdy Elementary
Careall
Chickamauga Creek Conservancy
City of Columbia
City of Cookville
City of Gallatin
City of Lebanon
City of Murfreesboro
City of Spring Hill
The Compost Company
Fish Habitat Restoration Initiative
Grand Palace Silkscreen
Harpeth River Watershed Association
Inside Track
Kappa Lambda Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
LP Environmental, LLC
Mars Pet Care
Memphis City Beautiful
Middle Tennessee State University
Modern Woodmen of America
Nashville Clean Water Project
Natural Awakenings
Obed Community Watershed Association
Schneider Electric
Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program
Tennessee Concrete Association
Tennessee Department of Forestry Urban Riparian Buffer Program
Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association
Tennessee Technological University
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Town of Pegram
Volunteer State Community College
Whites Creek Watershed Alliance
Pictured Top of Page: MTSU alumnus John McFadden, Executive Director Tennessee Environmental Council, instructs students taking part in MTSU’s Alternative Fall Break on Tuesday,Oct. 16, 2012. Students volunteered to plant trees as part of the TEC tree planting/stream bank restoration project along Garrison Creek. MTSU photo by J. Intintoli.
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