A University of Tennessee professor has estimated that 100% of the trees in the Greenway will die without treatment, according to an analysis presented to a gathering of Collegedale officials by college students working on a management plan for the city’s Greenway.
Students from the Urban Forestry Program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, presented their analysis and management plan for the Greenway vegetation on Wednesday, October 27. The presentation was made at The Commons and was open to the public.
According to Kirsten Ert, senior community planner for the city of Collegedale, four-year seniors Ethan Carr, Preston Collins and Brienna Shea collected data from the Greenway last month with help from UTK Professor Sharon Jean-Phillipe. The students conferred with Rob Allen and Chris Breedlove of Bartlett Tree Experts to gain insight on the tree situation and used data to form a management plan for the Greenway. They discussed invasive species, the need to remove dead trees and the danger of losing trees without careful attention.
Jean-Phillipe, a professor of urban forestry at UTK, has led the class but was unable to attend the presentation. David Vandergriff accompanied the students since he co-teaches the class with Jean-Phillipe.
Carr started the presentation by outlining the benefits of analyzing and preserving the vegetation along the Greenway. Some reasons were reduction of heating and cooling for the city, property value, reduction of flood water, air quality, aesthetics and community cohesion.
According to Carr, the students had a checklist for each tree along the Greenway, starting from Leyland Drive and ending at Tallant Road. The students’ report covered a total of 295 trees. It revealed that the most common trees in the Greenway to be northern hackberry, sugar maple and ash.
Vandergriff said the city of Collegedale should consider adding more diversity to its plantings. According to Carr, this would also reduce the need for mowing.
“There is a misconception that just planting more trees will reduce the need for mowing. That’s not necessarily the case,” Carr said. “If you want to reduce the cost, you need to permanently change the ground cover to something native and progressive.”
