NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — More than a year after roughly 100 trees were uprooted by the March 2020 tornado, dozens of new saplings are in the ground at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park.
On Sunday, a group of volunteers helped park rangers plant the final nine trees that were donated by the Tennessee State Park Conservancy.
"This has been going on for a year that people have been coming together to help us fix up the park after the storm," said Tennessee State Park Ranger Jed Hall. "Just like Nashville came together after the tornado, we've seen that time and time again as we've tried to fix the trees and damage that happened in the park."
Back in January, the first round of replacement trees were also planted by volunteers, like Destiny Brown.
"It's just a really great opportunity to give back to the state in which you live," said Destiny Brown.
Her friend Arianna Montero-Colbert enjoyed listening to the park rangers the first time around.
"Just learning from Jed and the team is a really great experience," said Arianna Montero-Colbert.
The last of the trees to go in the ground were maples, Princeton elms and swamp oaks from a nursery in McMinnville.
"One of the cool things we were able to do was have different stages of growth planted to make up from what's happened to our more mature trees," Hall said.
On Tuesday, June 1, Tennessee will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the state park at a ceremony at 10:00 a.m. The day will also mark 225 years since Tennessee became a state.
