Grant Provides New Trees For Dogwood Park

A state grant has allowed some new trees to be planted in Dogwood Park and adjacent Fleming Avenue parking lot.

Cookeville Urban Forester Jamie Nunan said the purpose of the trees is not just for beautification.

Cookeville has planted some 2,000 trees over the course of the year.

“The purpose is not for aesthetics,” Nunan said. “Using the grant, we have to give other reasons for planting, so in the Fleming Avenue parking lot we are going to be improving the shade and filtering storm-water runoff.”

The city of Cookeville purchased a total of 41 trees with the $4,000 grant. City workers planted about half of the trees earlier this month.

Nunan said the city planted about 2,000 trees this year to help sustain the urban forest.

“We will probably stick with and increase that moving forward,” Nunan said. “Planting the right-of-way, replacing trees that are older, and choosing better trees for certain places that will allow us to sustain our tree canopy.”

Nunan said the rest of the trees will be planted in Dogwood Park in the upcoming months.

The grant funding came from the Tennessee Agriculture Enhancement Program.