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On March 26, 2021, a tornado devasted the City of Newnan, a city located in Coweta County about 40 miles southwest of Atlanta. Officials with the National Weather Service said the violent, long-track tornado was an EF-4 storm. The path of the tornado left buildings in shambles and trees broken across the landscape.

As the people of Newnan are repairing and renewing their city, their vision for their city includes how to reforest their community. A community nonprofit, Plant Newnan, was formed to collaborate with the city and residents and to organize the replanting efforts. Our Guest Writer, Scott Berta, shares his perspectives on the collaboration, below.

Trees Atlanta is honored to partner with Plant Newnan to plant 116 trees this year through our Front Yard Tree program made possible with funding from the Isdell Family Foundation. Several areas affected by the storm are included in a replanting project. Residents of Newnan can review requirements and apply for trees at Front Yard Tree or learn more through Scott Berta, Plant Newnan.

Volunteer to Plant Trees in Newnan on March 26

A volunteer planting project is scheduled in the City of Newnan on March 26, 2022. The public is invited to help replant trees in Newnan by registering here: Tree Planting in Newnan

The project is made possible through funding from the Isdell Family Foundation. Started in 2006, the foundation is focused on sustainability initiatives in the state of Georgia and wildlife programs in Africa guided by past and present experiences of the Isdell family. The foundation has been a longtime supporter of Trees Atlanta since 2007.

Photo credits above: Newnan 2021 tornado fallen trees, GPB.org; A stately home in Newnan with downed tree March 2021, Kelly Jordan/Saporta Report; Damaged house Newnan GA March 2021, Kelly Jordan/Saporta Report.

Guest Writer: Scott Berta, Plant Newnan

We all have either that older sibling who showed us the ropes or that mentor that guided us through our early years.  A person who understands the mission and knows what is at stake if the movement fails. Soon after a tornado decimated the tree canopy of Newnan on March 26, 2021, Trees Atlanta approached the City of Newnan administration wanting to help. Wanting to provide a path forward of re-establishing the mature trees that no longer existed in the blink of an eye. A grassroots group of Newnan citizens began meeting in the summer of 2021. It was evident that there was vision in the room and a passion to take on a mission that many of us will likely never see the results of our hard work. From these meetings, Plant Newnan, Inc. was born and with it, the need for incredible partnerships.

Since October of 2021, Trees Atlanta and Plant Newnan have been working diligently to bring an initial planting program to residents who were in the tornado’s path. Site visits, logistical planning, volunteer planning, mapping, materials sourcing, and planting location assessments have all been on the table of planning for this incredible project.

Trees Atlanta has been a wealth of knowledge and resources to help Plant Newnan put down good roots in its community and establish itself as a viable and operational organization. The homeowners are elated and excited to have trees coming back to them, and we are so thankful for this opportunity to present love in the form of trees that are so desperately needed.

The Plant Newnan board and the City of Newnan wholeheartedly thank Trees Atlanta for offering its guidance, knowledge, and continued vision of mitigating tree loss, protection of forests, and increasing tree canopy. Recovery takes time, love, patience, and faith.  But the most important of these are trees.

Posted on: March 8, 2022

Photo credit above: Plant Newnan logo; Georgia Arbor Day 2022 tree planting in City of Newnan GA with Georgia Forestry Commission, Rebecca Leftwish/The Newnan Times-Herald.