February 2023: A Message from Our Executive Director
Dear Wolf River Conservancy Friend,
After a successful M.L.K. Day of Service in January, the Wolf River Restoration Series continues with our Annual Tree Planting event on Saturday, March 4th at the Urban Earth Nursery located at 80 Flicker Street. This urban tree planting effort, sponsored by International Paper, will be held a day after Tennessee’s official Arbor Day, which always occurs on the first Friday in March.. Our thanks to Brother International, the Presenting Sponsor for the entire Wolf River Restoration Series, and to all of the sponsors and partners who are supporting these events.
The Conservancy will partner with Urban Earth Nursery, The Works CDC, the Memphis Tree Board, and the West TN Chapter of the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council to pot 5,000 native tree seedlings. These seedlings will be cared for until they reach an appropriate size for their final home. The two primary uses of these trees are for ecological restoration projects along the Wolf River and to enhance blighted properties in Memphis. Trees not only benefit species composition and habitat quality for wildlife but also help to reduce runoff and recharge the Memphis Sand Aquifer – the drinking wqter source for all Memphians. A diversity of tree planting locations, facilitated by The Works CDC and planting along the Wolf River Greenway, helps to address tree equity in the Mid South – adding trees to neighborhoods where they are most needed.
Volunteers of all ages are needed to pot the tree seedlings. Join us for a morning of getting a little dirty while having lots of fun — and helping to make a lasting local impact! You can even sponsor a tree in memory or honor of someone special to you. To learn more about our Tree Planting event or tree sponsorships please visit this link.
As part of the Wolf River Restoration Series, we are also pleased to present “Champion Trees of Tennessee,” a virtual lecture by Wes Hopper, on Wed., Mar. 1, at 6:30pm. You can register for the lecture at this link.
As we plant trees together for the 18th year in a row, we are reminded that the planting of trees, much like the continued land conservation projects of the Wolf River Conservancy, serves future generations. Trees provide food, shade, and wildlife habitat. They clean the air, protect the soil, filter water, slow runoff, increase property values, and buffer noise.
Throughout history, trees have filled us with wonder and sparked our imaginations. Writers, philosophers, and many others have found inspiration in the branches and leaves of trees around them. We all have enjoyed a fall walk in a forest or park and the meditative crunch of leaves beneath our feet. Trees are good for the soul. They’re essential to the air we breathe. And they provide a majestic example of strength and perseverance in the face of adversity.
From the Arbor Day Foundation website:
Trees make good neighbors. We all know the good stuff that trees do in our lives every day. They clean the air. They provide homes for animals. They save energy by shading our dwellings, and they provide food for us. But what is it about trees that make these neighborhoods special?
“Specifically, trees increase property values. Studies have shown that homes with large trees consistently sell for higher amounts than homes without trees. Trees help reduce crime. There are significant dips in property crimes in neighborhoods that have trees. Trees buffer noise. Who doesn’t want a quieter neighborhood?
They filter our drinking water. Before hitting the gutter and the drain, water falls on trees to help slow down runoff and waste. In hotter cities, well shaded streets have to be paved less often, resulting in less air pollution from equipment and financial savings for municipalities. Many cost-benefits analyses across the country show that the investment that communities make in trees pay off through the quantified benefits that they provide. All these tree paybacks make our neighborhoods more livable and desirable.”
Sign up today to sponsor a tree or volunteer to join the Conservancy in restoring the natural beauty around us and helping future generations!
Thanks for your continued support.
Keith Cole
Executive Director
