City Council OKs $1 lease on land for first-ever new tree nursery in East Asheville

ASHEVILLE - A portion of riverside property on the eastern outskirts of the city is the new home of 200 seedlings, many of which will become public trees along Asheville streets and greenways, populating its parks, schools, libraries and public rights of way.

The city owned property, at 80 Hardesty Lane at the rear of Azalea Park, will be leased to nonprofit Asheville GreenWorks for five years, with the option for another five year renewal, at a cost of $1 per year. Asheville City Council unanimously approved the lease agreement as part of the consent agenda at its May 23 meeting.

GreenWorks has proposed a growing area of about 1.3 acres on the 33-acre property, where they will plant native trees that will be provided free of charge for public spaces, according to a city staff report.

It will be the site of the new Hardesty Lane Tree Nursery, with space for up to 500 trees and room to expand, said GreenWorks spokesperson Nicole McNeill.

Approximately 20% of the available trees will be designated for city of Asheville public installations, the report said, and others will be made available for planting on public land owned by Buncombe County, other municipalities in Buncombe County and nonprofit organizations.

The exact number and species of trees will be determined by the City Arborist and the GreenWorks on an annual basis.

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The first of its kind

Eric Bradford, operations director for GreenWorks, said this is the first in-ground tree nursery to specifically serve the city and county. While this model of partnership has been practiced in other municipalities around the United States, he said this is the inaugural effort of its kind in the area.

When it comes to the plantings, tough street tree species are a must, such as: swamp white oak, bald cypress, river birch, red maple, black gum and sycamore.

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While GreenWorks does operate a container tree nursery, which it uses for its annual tree adoption, larger trees are required for public spaces, which necessitates growing them in the ground until they reach a 2.5-inch caliper, weighing out at about 700-900 pounds.

Bradford said they started working with the city last year to put together an agreement, but the May 23 vote makes it official.

Street trees typically come from regional nurseries, but he said the size and scale of necessary trees can make new plantings "pretty cost prohibitive" at about $250 per tree. In order to meet a goal of 2,500 new plantings a year by 2040, needed to achieve 50% tree canopy coverage, the city would be looking at $625,000 in plantings annually, Bradford said.

An urban tree canopy study, conducted by the city in 2019, found a 6.4% tree canopy loss in 10 years, or 891 acres of canopy cover.

“We knew that we had to start looking at this differently, because when we lose that amount of trees, it is going to start changing the local climate,” Bradford said.

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The goal is to find roughly 10 acres throughout the city and county, "low use, public areas," to convert into in-ground tree nurseries. This is the first step.

“It is a missing link. It feels like this should already be there," he said.

McNeill said the nursery also helps to meet objectives in the city's recently adopted Municipal Climate Action Plan, an update on the city's 2009 plan, creating new resolutions around climate mitigation and adaptation.

"Setting up a nursery to provide tree stock for city canopy restoration projects is part of that goal," she said. "And that's where this lease fits in."

Planting efforts will also be guided by a citywide heat mapping campaign, which will be led by GreenWorks this summer. The effort will highlight the hottest neighborhoods, typically "unplanned and under resourced" areas, where plantings can be targeted.

Looking at three, five and seven year growing patterns, and plantings that will be done in cycles, Bradford said the first of the nursery's trees might be found in public spaces within five years.

The work is being done in partnership with the city's arborist and newly-appointed urban forester.

“All of this is with their input," he said. "The tree species, the tree locations, all these things. It’s a tremendous amount of input and back and forth."

Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: GreenWorks to grow free public trees; Council OKs $1 lease for nursery