Every year, the Nashville Tree Foundation celebrates our local tree canopy with the Big Old Tree Contest. If you’ve got a “living landmark” in your yard or neighborhood that you’d like to submit, the 2024 deadline for applications is Oct. 1. I’m a proud past winner — I saved the giant hackberry behind my house from developers eight years ago (see above for proximity of new construction to tree, insert eye roll), and in 2021, we were honored with a lovely plaque. Here’s how to submit the special tree in your life!
🌳 What Is the Big Old Tree Contest?
The Nashville Tree Foundation (NTF) created the contest in 1986 to help educate local school children about our tree canopy. The program is now a historic resource to identify and chronicle the city’s largest and most notable trees, and has honored more than 1,000 trees across Davidson County. The goal is to raise awareness about these “living treasures,” and help to preserve them.
👯 Who Can Enter, and How Does It Work?
Anyone! Individuals, families, entire classrooms — if you know where one of Nashville’s oldest, biggest trees is located, you can submit it for consideration. The only rule is that the tree must be alive and accessible, so that NTF volunteers can verify its species and size. When I submitted my hackberry, a very nice woman came to my house the same day to measure its trunk width and estimated height. Nominate yours here!
My award-winning hackberry at the end of a long, dry summer. (Whitney Pastorek / City Cast Nashville)
🏆 What Are the Award Categories?
The Big Old Tree Contest gives awards in the following categories:
- Biggest Overall Tree (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place)
- Biggest Tree found by a Junior Tree Hugger (15 and under)
- Biggest Tulip Poplar (TN State Tree)
- Biggest Schoolyard Tree
- Story Tree
- Unique Tree
- Public Land Showcase
I like the two new categories they added in 2023: Story Tree — for a tree that plays a special or historic role in its community — and Unique Tree, for those perfectly weird specimens.
Trees can only be entered once, but if your woodsy friend has already been honored, you can apply to register it as a Metro Historic and Specimen Tree. Because Metro Nashville’s tree canopy declined by 674 acres between 2016 and 2021, it’s on all of us to do our part in preserving the old growth, while we work to plant the next generation of Big Old Trees, too!
