{"id":164583,"date":"2026-07-29T11:23:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=164583"},"modified":"2026-07-29T11:23:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:23:05","slug":"tva-gift-helps-restore-ole-miss-tree-canopy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/tva-gift-helps-restore-ole-miss-tree-canopy\/","title":{"rendered":"TVA Gift Helps Restore Ole Miss Tree Canopy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Donation accelerates efforts to restore ice storm damage<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Tennessee Valley Authority<\/strong> donated $50,000 to the University of Mississippi<\/strong> to help restore the campus tree canopy after the devastation caused by winter storm “Fern,” reflecting TVA’s commitment to environmental stewardship, community resilience and the long-term health of natural resources across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The storm caused significant damage across the Ole Miss <\/strong>campus, resulting in the loss of about 11% of the tree canopy. Within the university’s central campus, tree loss totaled about 5%, while wooded areas and locations, such as the\u00a0South Campus Rail Trail<\/a><\/strong>, were more heavily damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“TVA’s generous gift will allow the university to replace trees on a much greater scale than originally planned, accelerating the restoration of the campus landscape for students, faculty, staff and visitors,” said Nathan Lazinsky<\/strong>, director of the\u00a0Department of Landscape Services<\/a>. “We are sincerely grateful for TVA’s partnership and generosity in helping restore one of the university’s most valuable natural assets.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gift builds on years of successful tree-planting partnerships between TVA<\/a> and universities across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Workers from the University of Mississippi’s Department of Landscaping Services move a tree into position on campus while Ole Miss students prepare to help cover the roots following this year’s winter storm. The Tennessee Valley Authority has donated $50,000 to help restore the campus tree cover after heavy damage caused by the storm. Photo by Hunt Mercier\/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Following the widespread damage caused by the winter storm at Ole Miss and throughout the area, TVA recognized an opportunity to support recovery efforts while advancing long-term environmental goals, said David Mitchell<\/strong>, TVA’s program manager for environmental stewardship and sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Through this investment, TVA hopes to help accelerate the replanting of trees lost during the storm, restore the beauty and ecological benefits of the university’s landscape, and create a more resilient urban forest that can better withstand future weather events,” Mitchell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The partnership supports a healthier campus environment while reinforcing the shared commitment of TVA and the University of Mississippi<\/a> to sustainability, conservation and the well-being of future generations.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A healthy canopy of trees is more than an aesthetic feature on a university campus. Trees provide shade that help moderate temperatures, improve air quality, reduce stormwater runoff and create a habitat for wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also contribute to the character of a campus, offering inviting outdoor spaces where students can gather, study and connect with nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As restoration efforts move forward, the partnership between Ole Miss and TVA will help ensure that future generations of students enjoy the environmental, educational and community benefits that a thriving canopy provides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Bill Dabney<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Donation accelerates efforts to restore ice storm damage The Tennessee Valley Authority donated $50,000 to the University of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123462,"featured_media":164584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17687],"tags":[35466,31283,7067,4,21127,35465,655],"class_list":["post-164583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-university-of-mississippi","tag-david-mitchell","tag-nathan-lazinsky","tag-ole-miss","tag-oxford","tag-south-campus-rail-trail","tag-the-tennessee-valley-authority","tag-university-of-mississippi"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Grove-Trees-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123462"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164583"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":164586,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164583\/revisions\/164586"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}