Blog: City Blog

Getting Greener: City Planting More than 600 Trees

Spring is just around the corner, and people who like to stroll their neighborhood and jog in parks soon will take note of the more than 600 new trees that the City is now planting.

Kasey Krouse, the city’s Urban Forester, is in charge of beautifying parks and neighborhoods by adding trees. That means selecting trees most likely to do well in particular sites; a big part of the process is inventorying and responsibly planting a diverse variety of trees.

"It's satisfying to know that, if we do our homework correctly, our children and grandchildren will be playing under these tree canopies decades from now," Krouse says.

"But right away, neighborhoods will notice the wider variety of tree foliage and colors, plus thickening numbers of trees on public properties citywide."

Krouse and his team choose hardy plants that can withstand weather extremes. They select young and healthy trees 10 to 18 feet in height from an assortment of more than 40 species in order to diversify the landscape and prevent diseases from wiping out entire groves of the same tree species.

It's fun to pick out trees for City parks, Krouse says. For instance, dogwoods, tulip poplars and London planetrees are being planted in Sequoyah Hills Park, part of a project to replace storm-damaged or diseased trees within the park.

But parks aren’t the only places getting greener. Examples: Sherrill Boulevard streetscaping will be adding some younger trees in the median. Along Clinton Highway, anticipate a mix of lacebark elms, Japanese zelkova and Kentucky coffee trees. Neighborhoods scheduled to be planted include Oakwood-Lincoln Park, Park Ridge and Island Home.

To see the plan for which trees are being planted where this season, click HERE.

Additionally, the City Tree Board meets at 8:30 a.m. on the first Thursday of every month at Ijams Nature Center to serve as an advisory committee, discussing how the Urban Forestry program should move forward. Interested parties are welcome to reach out to the City Tree Board for any tree concern they may have or for community outreach education on trees in the Knoxville area.

So as spring temperatures rise and Mother Nature greens up your neighborhood, check out the new trees on public properties. And thank the Division of Urban Forestry crew for making Knoxville greener!

- Tucker Hyde, Communications Intern

Posted by evreeland On 08 February, 2016 at 11:23 AM