If you go
› What: “If Trees Could Sing” launch with music by The Bohannons, Laura Walker Trio and Danimal Pinson.› When: 6-8 p.m. Friday, April 22, rain or shine.› Where: Coolidge Park, 150 River St.› Admission: Free.› Website: natureconservancy.org/iftreescouldsing.
A new campaign by The Nature Conservancy called "If Trees Could Sing" will get its official launch in Chattanooga on Friday, April 22, with a concert at Coolidge Park. In addition to music by The Bohannons, Danimal Pinson and the Laura Walker Trio, the event will include food trucks, beer from Hutton & Smith and information booths manned by various environmental advocacy groups.
As part of the campaign, three sets of local musicians - The Bohannons, Fletcher Bright and Dan Pinson - recorded a short video of themselves while standing in front of specimens of an American elm, a river birch and a ginkgo.
The Nature Conservancy worked with the city of Chattanooga to place interactive signs on trees in Coolidge Park, Greenway Farms and the Tennessee Aquarium plaza. The signs include a picture of the local artist, the name of the tree and campaign and a QR code with instructions on how to access the videos on a smartphone. You also can watch the videos at natureconservancy.org/iftreescouldsing.
The campaign was started three years ago in Nashville. Other nationally known artists such as Reba McEntire, Amy Grant, Kathy Mattea, Bela Fleck and Ben Folds recorded similar videos that are part of tree signs placed in 12 communities across the state. This is the first year that Chattanooga artists were asked to participate in the campaign.
Communications director Paul Kingsbury says officials with The Nature Conservancy decided that enlisting the help of musicians would help get the message out that trees are vital to our survival. Being in Nashville, the country music capital of the world, campaign organizers figured they had a natural resource at their fingertips.
"We were looking for a way to break through the clutter of life and get our message out," Kingsbury says. "Trees are not just pretty. They clean the air and they cool the air, and they pull a lot of pollution out of the air. They also control floodwater."
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.