Boughs of holly and limbs of pine and spruce take center stage this time of year. Like evergreens, the City of Knoxville strives to be green all year round. Two departments taking the lead are Public Service and Fleet Services. 

Public Service’s Urban Forestry crews -- including Randal Martin, Joe Cope, Kenny Dockins, Eduardo Chavez and Cory Thompson -- recently offloaded 510 trees into their laydown yard at the Public Works Complex.  

Over the next three months, crew members will plant these trees throughout the City in parks and neighborhoods. Some of the young trees will replace City trees that are damaged or dying.  

Winter is the best time to plant, as the dormant trees have time to acclimate to their new environment and slowly warm up in the spring. 

“Trees play an instrumental role in providing social, environmental, and economic benefits for the community,” says Urban Forester Kasey Krouse. 

Public Service crews will be planting more than 55 species of trees, including flowering dogwood, lacebark elm, Shumard oak, eastern redbud, Southern magnolia, yellowwood and bald cypress. Species diversity is an important factor in the City’s efforts to reduce the effects of climate change, defend against pests and diseases, and maintain Knoxville’s tree canopy. 

Planting trees helps the City meet its sustainability goals to reduce carbon emissions. So does the Fleet Services Department’s ongoing efforts to develop a greener fleet of vehicles that match the needs of City workers and their jobs.

This month, the City received its first shipment of renewable propane at our new propane refueling station on Loraine Street.

Fleet Services Director Nick Bradshaw explains that renewable propane is made from agricultural waste and used cooking oil rather than petroleum. It has the same properties and benefits as traditional propane – cleaner than gasoline and more practical and affordable than EV’s to replace larger vehicles – but it's much more sustainable. Win, win! 

The addition of renewable propane to Fleet's fuel options is an exciting addition to the department's ongoing sustainability efforts. 

The City recently added six new Nissan Leaf all-electric vehicles (EVs) to its fleet, bringing the total of EVs to eight. The new Leafs are replacing traditional gasoline powered vehicles and thereby improve the City’s carbon footprint. Plans are in the works to wrap the Leafs in graphics that tout the cars’ energy efficiency and the City’s sustainability efforts. 

In late November, Fleet Services marked 40 years as a City of Knoxville department and four decades of investment in renewable energy.