Responsible Growth - Trees

Charlie Mix, Michael Strok, and Kurt Martig joined us on August 22nd to share about initiatives around Chattanooga related to protecting our urban forest (and why we would want to). We learned about the impact of the Take Root Chattanooga Project and the many future impacts of this Urban Forestry Grant, as well as how the NCNA can get involved.

Ross Bailey, a NCNA member and owner of the local business Hovi Hats, has offered to create hats representing the Chattanooga Tree Collective, an arm of NCNA that will support efforts city-wide to plant and protect trees. All profits from hat sales will go to tree planting initiatives, beginning with the Rotary Tree Initiative.

GIS mapping has shown that between 1984 and 2021 Chattanooga lost 43% of our urban forest canopy. This leads to increased heat islands and decreased buffers for storm water run off, biodiversity, air quality and sense of place.

Sylvan Park Revamp

Several members of our NCNA Green Spaces Initiative met with representatives from the Parks Department to discuss a vision for the future of Sylvan Park Bird Sanctuary. We discussed our desire for the space to remain wild and a sanctuary for all of our neighbors — human, birds and other living creatures.

The sheep from Wild Violet Permaculture are a first step so that we can get a sense for the best uses for the space. With the invasive species (like kudzu, poison ivy and more) remediated, we are hoping to add more sitting spots along the path. Also, since there are no sidewalks leading to the park, we are hoping to build a path that will connect the park to Colville Street along the city’s easement under the power lines. Additionally, we hope to add a picnic table and a few other features.