Plant a Tree for Tennessee 2026

Plant a Tree for Tennessee is a statewide, community-driven effort to make native tree planting accessible for everyone. Each spring, thousands of bare-root native seedlings are offered for just $2.99, giving Tennessee residents an easy, affordable way to plant trees in their yards and strengthen their local environment.

This campaign is powered by grassroots leadership — local organizations, small businesses, churches, schools, and volunteers who host Tree Pickup Sites and help distribute seedlings in their communities. By partnering with neighborhood leaders, the program reaches areas where tree canopy has historically been limited and promotes long-term environmental justice across the state.

The goal is simple: empower Tennesseans to plant more native trees, restore local canopy, improve air and water quality, and build healthier, more resilient communities — one seedling at a time.
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We’re currently looking for volunteers and new distribution sites to help make this year’s campaign a success. If you’re interested in getting involved, sign up below!

Volunteer or
be a distribution site!

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🌱 Volunteer Tree-Planting Along Lytle Creek — December 4th, 9 AM–12 PM

Join us for a hands-on morning of planting 65 native trees along Lytle Creek in Murfreesboro to help restore the creek, improve water quality, and create habitat for wildlife.

Lytle Creek feeds into the Stones River and the Cumberland River, a critical water source for millions, and these trees will help stabilize banks, reduce runoff, and rebuild stream-side habitat.

Volunteers of all ages and skill levels are welcome! We will provide tools and gloves, but feel free to bring your own if you prefer. A water station will be available to refill bottles, and snacks will be provided.

Meeting Point: 2399 NickaJack Trail, Murfreesboro, TN 37127
When: Thursday, December 4, 2025 — 9:00 AM to ~12:00 PM

Thank you to our sponsor, the Arbor Day Foundation, for supporting this event. Together, we can make a lasting impact on Lytle Creek and our community!
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 Learn More about Lytle Creek Here
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We are also offering free bare root oak seedlings to those that volunteer! Details to come. 

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🌳 Plant a Bigger Tree for Tennessee – 2025 Recap!

This year, we’re thrilled to share that we sold over 60 of our larger trees as part of our Plant a Bigger Tree for Tennessee program! A huge shoutout to Renia Falcone from Primex Color Compounding & Additives and Kristin England from MTSU for their incredible help distributing trees and supporting this effort.
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If you’re interested in getting involved in future events or adding native trees to your yard, be sure to sign up for our newsletter below to stay in the loop!

stay in the loop

🌿 Special Thanks to Our Community Partners

We’re grateful to work alongside these dedicated partners who help make this effort possible:
Friends of Shelby Park Bottoms
Shelby Bottoms Nature Center
Aldersgate United Methodist Church
St. Mark’s United Methodist Church
Brentwood United Methodist Church

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🌿 Live Staking Stewardship Workshop & Training — Thanks for Coming Out!

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🌿 Another amazing day on the Nolichucky River! Nearly twenty volunteers came out, waders on and ready to roll — and we got all 1,900 live stakes in the ground. We even watered the trees planted back in October. 💪🌊
Live staking is a powerful, low-cost way to rebuild riverbanks and boost biodiversity, using cut stems that root right into the soil. Our species for the day: box elder, American elderberry, arrowwood viburnum, buttonbush, red twig dogwood, and eastern cottonwood. 🌱
Huge thanks to our partners — Appalachian Watershed Alliance, Nolichucky Outdoor Recreation Association, Nolichucky Restoration Project, and Keep Greene Beautiful. Great people, great conversations, and real connections made.
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Grateful for this community. If you believe in this work, please donate if you can — every dollar supports restoration right here in East Tennessee. 💚

donate to restore the river

Special Thanks to Our Community Partners

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We’re using proven actions
to help  our air, land, water,
​and community.

We plant trees where they
offer more direct benefits
​for people.

No politics--
everyone wins when
​we plant trees!

Our Approach

Our Mission

Our mission is to create green spaces in Southeastern U.S. communities that contribute to healthier communities, thriving economies, and a greater quality of life. We achieve this through native plant installations that create climate resilience and restore healthy ecosystems. 

Our Beginnings

Congressman Mark Green conceived Green Interchange and launched it in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Tennessee Division of Forestry to beautify Tennessee’s highways and roadways and unite Tennesseans on both sides of the aisle in protecting the environment. 

get involved

How We Work

Simple and Effective. 

We plant trees where they have maximum impact along  roadways, waterways, and in "other ways" such as public spaces or other places. ​Trees and other natural infrastructure offer outstanding benefits, for instance:  

"Noise and vegetative barriers can reduce downwind pollutant concentrations near roads."  
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
​
"Forested stream banks act like a sponge, filtering out excessive nutrients, sediment, and other
​pollutants that run off from the land that would be damaging if they entered a stream. "
- Christina Catanese , The EPA Blog​​

Join the Effort!

Whether you want to offset the CO2 emissions from your car, or to join us stream side in planting trees, there are many ways you can make a difference.  It is through our supporters and partners like you that we accomplish our goals.
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Donate

help us plant trees