# Cumberland River Compact (Root Nashville)

> Nashville watershed nonprofit that runs the Root Nashville campaign to plant 500,000 trees in Davidson County by 2050

Source: https://treerm.org/org/cumberland-river-compact · Updated 2026-11-08 · Data license: CC BY 4.0 (https://treerm.org/about#license)

## Facts

- Type: Nonprofit
- Scope: Regional
- Headquarters: Nashville, Tennessee, United States
- Founded: 1997
- Website: https://cumberlandrivercompact.org
- Volunteer sign-up: https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/get-involved/volunteer/
- Donate: https://crc.kindful.com/?campaign=2871
- Events calendar: https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/events/
- Countries where they plant: United States
- Activity types: Urban forestry (primary), Reforestation, Tree adoption & giveaways, Tree care & maintenance
- Trees on record: 94,139 (larger of latest cumulative figure and sum of annual figures; trees planted or distributed)

## About

The Cumberland River Compact is a Nashville 501(c)(3) founded in 1997 to improve water quality in the Cumberland River basin across Tennessee and Kentucky. Since 2018 it has run day-to-day operations of Root Nashville, a public-private campaign with Metro Nashville (Metro Water Services) to plant 500,000 trees across Davidson County by 2050, delivering free native trees to residents' yards, planting streets, schools and community reforestation sites, training Neighborhood Planting Captains and watering newly planted trees. The Compact also plants riparian buffers along restored streams and tens of thousands of seedlings on former mine land in the upper basin, and runs stream cleanups, River Friendly Farms and school education programs.

## Programs

- **Root Nashville** — Urban forestry (2018–present): Public-private campaign led by Metro Nashville and the Compact to plant 500,000 trees in Davidson County by 2050: free native trees for yards and businesses, plantings at streets, schools and community reforestation sites, Neighborhood Planting Captains, tree sponsorships and a public Tree Tracker map. https://rootnashville.org
- **Root Nashville Get Free Trees** — Tree adoption & giveaways (2018–present): Davidson County residents order up to three large native trees each summer (orders close August 31) for free delivery and planting by the Compact's field team in fall and winter. https://rootnashville.org/get-free-trees/
- **Mine Land Reforestation** — Reforestation: Plants native seedlings on formerly surface-mined land in the upper Cumberland basin (for example Hurricane Ridge) to restore forest cover and protect headwater streams. https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/2026/02/02/the-compacts-year-in-review-2025-expanding-horizons/
- **Stream Restoration riparian plantings** — Reforestation: Plants trees, seedlings and live stakes along restored stream banks in the Harpeth River and other basin watersheds to rebuild riparian buffers. https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/our-work/stream-restoration/

## Metrics

> Note: The Compact does not publish a single organization-wide planting total; its 2025 review lists 7,118 Root Nashville trees, 47,350 mine-land seedlings and 34,373 streamside trees, seedlings and live stakes separately, so the Root Nashville figures count large caliper trees while the other two are mostly seedlings and live stakes. The Root Nashville cumulative count (62,975 as of April 1, 2026) comes from press coverage of the campaign's own tracker, because the rootnashville.org counter loads only with JavaScript; earlier campaign milestones were 17,000 trees by May 2021 and the 20,000th tree in November 2021.

| Metric | Year | Value | Cumulative | Program | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---:|---|---|---|---|
| Volunteers engaged | 2025 | 1,030 | no (that year) | organization-wide | Self-reported | [source](https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/2026/02/02/the-compacts-year-in-review-2025-expanding-horizons/) Year in Review 2025: 'total number of volunteers: 1,030' across cleanups, plantings and other Compact events (2024 review reported 1,422 volunteers) |
| Trees planted | 2023 | 5,298 | no (that year) | Root Nashville | Self-reported | [source](https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/2024/01/22/the-compacts-year-in-review/) Compact's Year in Review 2023 (Jan 22 2024): '5,298 trees were planted in Davidson County alone as a part of Root Nashville' |
| Trees planted | 2025 | 7,118 | no (that year) | Root Nashville | Self-reported | [source](https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/2026/02/02/the-compacts-year-in-review-2025-expanding-horizons/) Compact's Year in Review 2025 (Feb 2 2026): 'Root Nashville trees planted by the Compact in 2025: 7,118'; also 'Root Nashville trees watered by the Compact: 6,102' |
| Trees planted | 2026 | 62,975 | yes (to date) | Root Nashville | Self-reported | [source](https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/coverstory/free-trees-nashville/article_ac0d92f7-e559-4370-9f7b-8350d41e422d.html) Nashville Scene, Green Issue, April 9 2026, relaying the campaign's own count: Root Nashville has planted 62,975 trees as of April 1, 2026, since launching in 2018 (rootnashville.org's own counter renders as 0 without JavaScript) |
| Trees planted | 2025 | 47,350 | no (that year) | Mine Land Reforestation | Self-reported | [source](https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/2026/02/02/the-compacts-year-in-review-2025-expanding-horizons/) Year in Review 2025: 'seedlings planted at mine land reforestation sites: 47,350' and 'Acres of mine land reforested by the Compact in 2025: 80' |
| Trees planted | 2025 | 34,373 | no (that year) | Stream Restoration riparian plantings | Self-reported | [source](https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/2026/02/02/the-compacts-year-in-review-2025-expanding-horizons/) Year in Review 2025: 'Trees, seedlings, and live stakes planted along streams in 2025: 34,373' (Harpeth River watershed and other stream restoration sites) |

Confidence: self-reported is the organization's own published figure; independently verified means a third party confirmed it; estimated means TreeRM derived it and the note says how.

## Upcoming events

- 2026-11-21 — Fall Volunteer Tree Planting (Volunteer planting), Nashville — register: https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/event/fall-volunteer-tree-planting-fall-2026/ — https://treerm.org/events/cumberland-river-compact/fall-volunteer-tree-planting-2026-11-21.md
- 2026-11-21 — Common Ground: A Farm Field Day Celebrating Land, Water & Community (Other), Nashville — register: https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/event/common-ground-a-farm-field-day-celebrating-land-water-community/ — https://treerm.org/events/cumberland-river-compact/common-ground-a-farm-field-day-celebrating-land-water-community-2026-11-21.md
- 2026-12-05 — Town Creek Tributary Cleanup and Critter Exploration (Other), Gallatin — register: https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/event/town-creek-tributary-cleanup-and-critter-exploration/ — https://treerm.org/events/cumberland-river-compact/town-creek-tributary-cleanup-and-critter-exploration-2026-12-05.md

## Links

- instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crcompact/
- facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CumberlandRiverCompact/
- linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cumberland-river-compact
- youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8htY_PitY5AbQFGurAlAEQ

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