KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Community members got their hands dirty Saturday morning removing invasive species from Caswell Park. The Tennessee Valley Authority and Trees Knoxville gave away free trees and also hosted an invasive plant removal event at the park.
"We're doing an invasive species removal, and we're also giving away trees," said Sophie Carter, a program manager with Trees Knoxville. "So in theory, it's, you know, taking out some of the invasive species, and we're hopefully getting more trees that are native to our ecosystem in the ground."
The event had booths from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and the Tennessee Nature Conservancy. They said invasive species can be found in neighborhoods all over Knoxville.
"The reason that we would be removing invasive species is because they're out-competing our native species," said Carter.
Multiple species were tackled at the park, including Honeysuckle and Tree of Heaven trees.
"I think the turnout at this event shows how much people in East Tennessee and in the Tennessee River Valley really care about our natural environment," said Jessica Wykoff-Carpenter, Watershed Representative for the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Leaders said their goal of achieving 40% urban tree coverage by 2030 could only be achieved with the help of the public.
"That's something that is very important to trees Knoxville is, is getting trees planted on private property," said Carter. "As much as we can do on public property, we still need the help of homeowners to plant on their property as well."
They also said if you plan on removing invasive species from your neighborhood, to be sure to remove the root of the plant to prevent future breakouts.