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Summary:
All across Nashville neighborhoods, new trees are popping up. As Spring approaches buds, flowers, and blossoms are visible on these new trees. Over 30,000 of these trees are thanks to partners of the Root Nashville campaign, led by the Cumberland River Compact. Root Nashville is a public-private partnership led by the Cumberland River Compact and Metro Nashville. We were able to reach this big planting milestone thanks to many partners, neighborhoods, and organizations across the city – and some very special Neighborhood Planting Captains.
In this episode of River Talks, we hear from Meg Morgan, Root Nashville Campaign Manager at the Cumberland River Compact, and two recent Neighborhood Planting Captains: Tranyce Parmer and Danylo Lazarenko. Tranyce and Danylo were both part of a cohort of Planting Captains supported by an Arbor Day Foundation environmental justice grant. Today we get to hear from both of these amazing Planting Captains about their experiences and how you can get involved!
About our Guests:
Tranyce Parmer: Tranyce is a Nashville Native and an active member of her Oakwood community, including as a Beautification Commissioner. She also runs a business, Let’s Talk Gardening, which focuses on making gardening techniques and resources accessible to new audiences. Tranyce represented the Oakwood community as a Neighborhood Planting Captain. The Oakwood neighborhood is in East Nashville, west of Ellington Parkway, and is a majority black community.
Danylo Lazarenko: Danylo is originally from Ukraine and has lived in Nashville for 12 years before recently moving to Chattanooga for school. He first heard about the Cumberland River Compact from the Nashville Youth Climate Summit in 2020. Danylo represented the Southeast Nashville community of Woodbine as a Planting Captain. Woodbine is a majority-minority, highly diverse neighborhood with a large population of immigrants and New Americans.
Meg Morgan: Meg is the Root Nashville Campaign Manager at the Cumberland River Compact. In her role, she supports individuals, neighborhoods, and organizations interested in planting trees towards the citywide Root Nashville goal. She is a member of the Green Communities Leadership Institute and was awarded the Nashville Emerging Leader Award in the Environmental category in 2020.
Neighborhood Planting Captain applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Apply by May 14th to be eligible for the next cohort!
In this Podcast:
- Environmental and water quality benefits of trees
- How the Cumberland River Compact maintains trees on public property
- Partners and collaboration that help us plant trees in Nashville
- Hear directly from Tranyce and Danylo about their experience as Neighborhood Planting Captains
- How (and why!) you should get involved as a Neighborhood Planting Captain
Learn more about the resources mentioned: