CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) —
Rapid growth in Montgomery County has brought new schools, roads and hundreds of homes — but it has also come at a cost to the area's tree canopy.
"It's a stunning amount of growth," said Jeff Robinson, chairman of Replant Clarksville. "In the last five years, we've added almost 50,000 people."
Robinson, the owner of Blackhorse Pub and Brewery, noticed something was missing once construction equipment rolled away from newly developed areas. "We're losing a lot of tree canopy," he said.
Two years ago, Robinson and other community leaders founded Replant Clarksville to address that loss. "Our goal is to replace lost tree canopy," Robinson said.
The effort goes beyond aesthetics. Robinson says trees play a critical role in air quality and stormwater management. "It starts with the air we breathe," he said. "The tree soaks up some of that water as it's coming down."
The organization has partnered with the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System and Montgomery County Parks to identify planting zones across multiple areas. "Last year, we put 150 trees at this campus, and you can tell by the size and scope of this particular campus, it could take a lot more," Robinson said.
Now, a new state matching grant could help the organization expand its reach even further. "It's a matching grant — we put in $20,000, they put in $20,000 more," Robinson said.
The goal is to plant at least 1,000 new trees per year. Robinson acknowledges that even that ambitious target will not be enough to keep pace with development. "We have more opportunity than we can deal with," he said.
Still, Robinson says doing nothing is not an option. "You can't just take them out and expect not to have some problems," he said.
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