Before Nashville finalizes its annual budget this month, citizens are demanding one new line item: funding for Middle Tennessee’s largest contiguous forest, which is in the Highland Rim.
Oak trees splintered. Sugar maples uprooted. Some trees crashed across Nashville streets, and hundreds of trees took out power lines. Nashville officials received reports for nearly 600 fallen trees on Friday following the windstorm. The total tally could be higher.
After years of mounting concerns, Nashville will soon begin cutting down hundreds of ash trees damaged by the invasive Emerald Ash Borer, a shimmering metallic green beetle that’s tiny but lethal.
Trees are essential infrastructure. In recent years, the science has become clearer on how trees reduce air pollution, flooding and heat. And just being near them improves mental and physical health.
A sixth-generation Nashvillian says she’s rarely surprised by new information about her city — but did start wondering about what she describes as a “bonsai-looking cypress tree” in her yard. She uncovered a rich history about her neighborhood and shares it with Curious Nashville.
Liz Cannon reached out to WPLN’s Curious Nashville project about the “bonsai-looking cypress tree” in her backyard. She wanted to know its history and took it upon herself to do some investigating beforehand.
When NFL Draft organizers cut down cherry trees in downtown Nashville to build a temporary stage in 2019, it caused a public outcry. But it also sparked a two-year effort to design the city’s first proposed ordinance to protect trees on public property.