By valuing our trees, we make their legacy visible.
Our oldest, most mature trees do the most to protect our neighborhoods from the effects of a changing climate, but these special, rare, or ancient trees are especially vulnerable to the pressures of development.
Due to their size, they are often the first trees selected for removal during a building project, and due to their age, they grew where they seeded, without respect for our modern roads and property lines.
We honor our Treasured Trees to make the community aware of their value and their vital role in our local ecosystem — and to make home owners and developers think twice about cutting them down.
Our dedicated Treasured Trees committee volunteers help homeowners and property holders honor rare, special, and ancient trees in our community, but many many more than we can currently handle deserve our recognition and protection.
4
Treasured Trees that were alive when Asheville was still part of the Cherokee Nation
5
Amazing Volunteer Leaders
16
Rare Species Trees
265
Treasured Trees Honored
(before the Declaration of Independence was signed)
Our Treasured Trees Committee program is administered by five incredibly dedicated volunteers who keep the living history of our most special and ancient trees. They devote their own time to help homeowners and property holders honor their trees. However, our current program is limited by the time constraints of their schedules.
Your gift will allow us to offer more support to the volunteer team that leads this work, and expand our efforts to preserve the most valuable trees in our urban tree canopy.
Your gift allows us to:
Evaluate nominations
Document these trees as living ancestors of this land
Conduct historical research into the significance of these trees
Secure additional human resources with the scientific expertise to identify the species and age of these trees and evaluate their health.
Host dedication ceremonies for the families and communities directly touched by these trees
Create educational materials to help new residents appreciate the value of our ancient, special, and rare trees.
Donate Now
By honoring Treasured Trees, you help newcomers to the area see and appreciate the value of our local history and educate current residents on the legacies of these valuable trees.
Make your tax-deductible gift today to help us honor and preserve our tree legacy in Asheville.
More Ways to Give
Join the Treasured Trees Committee
Our volunteers keep our history alive.
Sponsor a Program
With additional support, we could do so much more to document and honor our community’s most valuable trees.
Become a TreeKeeper
Our trees are precious, and there's plenty we can do to protect them.