TWRA to Work with Nashville Sounds, other Partners in Tree Planting Project

NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, along with the Nashville Sounds baseball club, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture-Division of Forestry, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation-State Parks, are sponsoring a tree planting program to promote the importance of trees to Tennessee. The program is Broken Bat=Planted Tree.

 

During the 2012 Nashville Sounds season, each home game with at least one broken bat will result in the opportunity for obtaining trees to be planted in the fall. Groups eligible to participate include schools, churches, scouts, little league teams, soccer teams, conservation organizations, watershed groups, and civic organizations.

 

From the pool of participants who sign up through the TWRA, one group will be drawn at random for each Sounds home game where a bat is broken. At the end of the Sounds season, nine final winners will be drawn. Each of the nine winning organizations will receive trees for fall planting from the Department of Agriculture-Division of Forestry. Forestry professionals will assist with selecting the best mix of tree species for each planting site and provide instruction for proper planting. The groups will be eligible to receive up to 200 trees for planting.

 

“We are pleased to be a partner in this program” said Ed Carter, TWRA Executive Director. “A single effort can more than double our effort and triple our results. Habitat is the key, and when the whole community comes to the plate we’re all batting cleanup. It’s truly an out-of-the-park home run and wildlife, people, and the environment are all winners.”

 

Groups wishing to participate in the Broken Bat=Planted Tree program should send registration information, including the organization’s name, mailing address, contact person, phone number, tax identification number, and description of where the trees would be planted in Middle Tennessee directly to the TWRA. Information should be sent to the TWRA Department of Environmental Services, Ellington Agricultural Center, P.O. Box 40747, Nashville, TN 37204.

 

Organizations participating in the TWRA Clean Streams Program or the TWRA Riparian Conservation Program are eligible to participate in the Broken Bat=Planted Tree project.

 

Groups proposing to plant trees on public property such as parks or greenways should provide written approval from the federal, state or local lands manager.

 

The thousands of baseball bats used each season by professional teams are made from ash, hickory or oak which come from the forest hardwoods. In addition to wood products, trees provide shade, wildlife habitat, cool streams, fresh oxygen, erosion and flood control, and are a key part of contributing to Tennessee’s year-round beauty.

 

The TWRA and Sounds websites will provide updates on Broken Bat=Planted Tree project throughout the baseball season. Sounds players, management and even the team’s mascot, Ozzie, will participate in tree planting celebrations during the late fall.

 

Radio spots during Sounds game broadcasts will promote programs such as Safe Boating, State Parks 75th Anniversary celebrations, and Tennessee agricultural products. For more information, contact TWRA (Della Sawyers) at (615) 781-6577.

---TWRA---