Congratulations to Avondale Park for an extremely successful tree planting event in March. Over two hundred native trees were planted in homeowners’ yards. The project was funded through the Root Nashville Campaign. The donated trees were worth over $30,000. A huge thank you to Angelie Quimbo for organizing this project. She applied to be a “Planting Captain” through the Root Nashville campaign. Angelie is a high school junior who lives in Avondale Park and is a member of the Mayor's Youth Council and a planning team member for the Cumberland River Compact's Youth Climate Summit.

The trees will benefit the neighborhood in many ways. One of the immediate benefits has been to build community. The project has given the neighbors an opportunity to improve communication, foster new connections and build relationships. As the trees grow, they will increase property values. Studies have shown a 5-15% increase in the value of homes with mature trees. Over the years to come, the trees will filter the air and reduce noise pollution, which is especially beneficial for a community located near Interstate 40. The trees will also absorb rainwater and reduce the risk of flooding from the nearby Harpeth River. These are just a few of the many benefits the trees will bring to the community.

Some quick facts about the project:

●      202 trees were planted in homeowners’ yards (56 sweetbay magnolia, 77 redbud, 10 honeylocust, 14 nuttall oak, 45 tulip poplar.)

●      79 total households participated in the project.

●      Ghertner and Company donated two bur oaks, planted next to the playground, which will provide shade as they grow into large canopy trees.

All of the trees planted in Avondale Park count towards the Root Nashville campaign goal. Root Nashville is a public/private partnership, led by Metro Nashville and the Cumberland River Compact, to plant 500,000 trees in Davidson County by 2050 (rootnashville.org.) If you are interested in applying to be a “Planting Captain” for your neighborhood, go to https://rootnashville.org/organize/. For all Davidson County homeowners, if you plant a tree on your own, you can log it and it will count towards the goal.

To learn more about the importance of trees, the following is a link to a recent workshop we offered which focused on the benefits of trees to homeowner’s associations. You can view the recording at  https://ghertner.com/sustainability-initiative or directly on https://vimeo.com/514029991.