Nashvillians grieve loss of beloved trees after ice storm
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A redbud tree stands tall over the barn at Warner Park. Photo: courtesy of Friends of Warner Park.
More than 20 years ago, a redbud tree near the Warner Park nature center barn was scheduled to be destroyed.
- When word got out, a group of do-gooders started a petition drive asking to spare the tree. Kids led the charge, delivering handwritten notes on the tree's behalf.
The tree-hugging worked. The redbud was saved, and there it stood in a well-loved corner of Warner Park until, at the age of about 65, it fell victim to last month's ice storm.
Why it matters: People develop emotional attachments to trees. In Nashville, one lasting aftershock of the ice storm has been grieving the loss of especially beloved trees.
Zoom in: The Warner Parks are ground zero for the tree devastation. The Friends of Warner Parks advocacy group initially estimated 2,000 trees were destroyed by the storm.
- But that's just along the paved paths and trails. Extending deeper into the forest increases the estimate into the thousands. Warner Parks are closed indefinitely for safety reasons following the storm.
What she's saying: "This is the most devastating event in the park's history," Molly Elkins, senior director of advancement for Friends of Warner Parks, tells Axios, adding that trees damaged the nature center, the group's field station and historic shelters dating back to the 1930s.
- Elkins says some of the fallen trees are over 100 years old. Then there's the emotional toll of losing a tree that was planted to mark a major life event.
- "I know so many people who plant trees when a kid is born, or when someone passes. We have a tree trust program, planted in a loved one's memory."
Axios Nashville asked readers to tell us their own stories of trees lost during the ice storm.
Nashville resident Laura Braam shared an essay she wrote about her family's backyard oak tree. Braam's family initially thought the oak would survive the storm when they saw it standing upright the morning after ice blanketed the city. Later in the day, it fell.
- Braam comes from a family of tree lovers. Her grandfather wrote a poem about an oak tree shortly after he received a terminal cancer diagnosis.
- Her tree was so cherished that neighbors texted her to offer condolences. One of those grieving was a 6-year-old neighbor boy. "Maybe James can come say goodbye with me, when it's safe to walk in the yard," she wrote in her essay.
The Nashville Zoo lost its most iconic tree, a 150-year-old hackberry, which shaded a picnic area at the end of Festival Field.
- "Thousands of school children and families have eaten their lunch and snacks under this tree's branches over the years," reader Emily Vestal, who works for the Zoo, tells Axios. "The day they had to start dismantling the tree the Zoo was closed to the public, but many employees watched and I'm told it felt like a funeral."
- Leadership is considering how to preserve parts of the tree to maintain its legacy.
The bottom line: Readers who didn't suffer the loss of an ancient tree or a backyard family heirloom still feel the effects of the storm.
- "We didn't lose one but I'm wrecked at how different some of our town will look in the spring," reader Buddy T. tells Axios.
Get involved: Friends of Warner Parks is encouraging donations to support its long-term recovery effort.