Middle Tennessee Electric's Tree Wise Program Sees Increase in School Participation

May 17, 2022 at 05:55 pm by WGNS


(Rutherford County, Tenn.) Each year during February and March, Middle Tennessee Electric brings its educational initiative, Tree Wise, to local schools to teach students about environmental awareness and the importance of planting the right tree in the right place. During the presentation to students, an MTE representative conducts classroom activities and discussions on how to transport, plant and care for trees. The students are also taught about the importance of planting trees where they won’t interfere with the electric grid, best safety practices while around electric lines and MTE’s year-round efforts to trim vegetation. To conclude the program, students are given a tree sapling to take home and plant with their families, and they are encouraged to share the information they learned during the program.

This year, 99 schools participated in Tree Wise, and around 12,000 first graders and kindergarteners received redbud saplings to take home and plant. This marks a 30% increase in program participation over 2021, due in part to a virtual presentation option as well as Vegetation Management Support Specialist Ashely Fetzer’s efforts to reach out to downtown Murfreesboro schools and other city schools in MTE’s service area.

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Middle Tennessee Electric President / CEO Chris Jones stated, “We’re proud to educate students in an engaging way about the environment and what we do at MTE.” Jones further said, “I encourage teachers to take advantage of this free resource MTE offers to our community and schedule a presentation for their classrooms.”

Educators invited to book a guest speaker from Middle Tennessee Electric: Teachers and schools are encouraged to contact MTE to schedule a presentation for 2023 by calling (877) 414-7685 or emailing VegetationManagement@mtemc.com.

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