NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – March 18, 2023, is “Tennessee Tree Day” — a statewide tree-planting event organized each year by the Tennessee Environmental Council. You and your family can participate in planting trees together, and then, watch them grow for years to come.

You can go online now through Feb. 26 and reserve some saplings to plant on your property for a small donation per tree.

“We want people to be planting trees at their homes, at their farms, at their private properties, or anywhere you can get permission to plant,” explained Jeffrey Barrie, Tennessee Environmental Council CEO. “We make the trees as accessible as possible. We have ten different species. We have 100,000 trees on order from the East Tennessee nursery run by the state Division of Forestry. We do ask for like a $2 donation to a $4 donation for those trees when people reserve them online.”

The saplings are all native to Tennessee and include elderberry, flowering dogwood, cherrybark oak, white oak, pecan, tulip poplar, Virginia pine and indigo bush.

“They are bare-root seedlings, which means the roots are exposed,” Barrie pointed out. “They’re pulled out of the ground when they are dormant. So, they have a better chance of surviving. And we keep the roots wrapped and moist with water. So, they are moist before you put them in the ground.”

To reserve a tree, go to tectn.org.

“On that homepage, there is a button to reserve your trees for Tree Day, and then you will see a map of Tennessee,” Barrie explained.

“You click on the location closest to you where you want to pick up your trees and it will take you to a webpage where you can decide what trees you want and how many of each species.”

After you place your order, you will pick them up at your chosen location on March 17 or 18 (or both dates) depending on the date specified by your pick-up location.

There are instructions on the website on how to plant your tree.

It is also recommended that you call 811 before digging to have utility-owned lines marked, so you don’t plant over electrical or gas lines. The call to 811 is free. It’s safe, and it’s required by law.

Happy planting!