Cookeville Tree Giveaway Returns To Hyder-Burks Friday

Cookeville’s Annual Tree Giveaway returns to the Hyder Burkes Pavilion Thursday morning.

Urban Forester Jaime Nunan said the program started after the 2020 tornado, when the Arbor Day Foundation reached out to help with a replanting mission. She said the program has been very popular, with corporate sponsors helping the foundation and the city to host giveaways sometimes twice a year.

“So many people realize the benefits of having trees in their yard,” Nunan said. “And with a lot of people building homes in our area this kind of gives them the opportunity to put trees in their yard where they want them and where they see longevity and where it won’t cause problems and get what kind of trees they want for their yard. We’ve seen a lot of success with these giveaways.”

Nunan said they have some 400 trees to give away, with a mixture of native and flowering species. She said they will have Yoshino cherry, tulip poplar, Shumard oak, American hornbeam, American yellowwood, ginkgo, sweetgum, and black gum.

Nunan said the trees are containerized and are four to six feet tall. She said visitors will be able to take two trees per person. The giveaway starts at 9 a.m. and will continue until supplies run out.

“For me, in the Urban Forestry Division we only have control over so much, I can only plant in so many parts of the city in the right of ways, parks, and things like that,” Nunan said. “But most of the property located within the city is on private property so this gives us an opportunity to expand the urban forestry canopy, things like that on private property. So it’s really a great partnership between us and the citizens.”