Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Nashville Sounds were among those planting trees in Edwin Warner Park as part of the “Swing for the Trees” program. Shown, from left to right, are Don King (TWRA Information and Education division chief), Pandy English (Instream Flow coordinator, TWRA Environmental Services), Doug Scopel (Sounds assistant general manager), Brad Tammen (Sounds vice president/general manager) Steve Patrick (TWRA assistant director), and Ozzie (Sounds mascot).
Officials from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the Nashville Sounds, Metro Parks staff, and Friends of Edwin Warner Park, along with other volunteers, gathered at the park to plant trees as part of the “Swing for the Trees” program.
“Swing for the Trees” is a tree planting program to promote the importance of trees to Tennessee. The TWRA participated in the program beginning last season. During the Sounds home games, where there was at least one broken bat, resulted in the opportunity for obtaining trees to be planted this spring. A total of 114 bats were broken by the Sounds in 2012.
Native trees including sugar maple, sycamore, northern red oak and red were planted along Vaughn Road between the Edwin Warner Park Headquarters and near the Little Harpeth River. The tree plantings will replace some of the trees used to make baseball bats and help to restore the riparian or stream bank habitats. 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.
TWRA, along with the Sounds, and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture-Division of Forestry are set to be partners for the “Swing for the Trees” program in 2013. The Sounds play a 72-game home schedule and started the new campaign with an eight-game home stand beginning on Thursday.