Community volunteers are needed Saturday, March 1, for a tree planting event along Garrison Creek in east Murfreesboro aimed at protecting the local water supply.

In this 2012 file photo, MTSU alumnus John McFadden, executive director Tennessee Environmental Council, instructs students volunteers. The students volunteered to plant trees as part of the TEC tree planting/stream bank restoration project along Garrison Creek. Another tree planting is scheduled for Saturday, March 1. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

The Tennessee Environmental Council along with the City of Murfreesboro Water and Sewer Department and MTSU Stormwater Program are partnering for the event, which will last from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Volunteers should meet at in the Kroger parking lot on Lascassas Pike and North Rutherford Boulevard.

Volunteers should bring sturdy boots or shoes along with gloves and warm clothing. Organizers are asking volunteers to devote one, two or three hours to planting seedlings along the creek.

The event is part of an effort by the Environmental Council to plant 10,000 trees across the state. The goal of the project is to develop a stream protection zone to improve local water quality. Trees along the stream filter out pollutants such as yard chemicals, oils that leak onto pavement and loose dirt that flow into the stream when it rains. The trees also cool the water and provide a canopy that improves the habitat for fish and other aquatic wildlife.

Volunteers can preregister at http://tectn.org/10ktreeday/.

For more information, contact Cynthia Allen with the MTSU Stormwater Program at 615-898-2660 or via email at Cynthia.Allen@mtsu.edu.

— Jimmy Hart (jimmy.hart@mtsu.edu)