Reba McEntire and More Join ‘If Trees Could Sing’ Project

Reba McEntire, Rodney Atkins and Jerry Douglas are among the artists who have been announced to help launch If Trees Could Sing.

The organizations is a partnership between the Nature Conservancy and Metro Parks Nashville with the goal of raising awareness about the importance of trees and their conservation.

The project features 18 musicians talking about their favorite trees, with trees in Nashville's Centennial Park outfitted with signs that include a photo of the artist and a QR code that can be scanned by a smart phone to show a video of the artist talking about that tree.

“Who doesn’t have a favorite tree?” asks Gina Hancock, state director for the Nature Conservancy in Tennessee. “Trees are an important part of our everyday lives, whether we realize it or not. That is the key message these generous artists are delivering. If Trees Could Sing is a fresh and innovative way to communicate the vital role trees play in keeping our communities healthy, clean and enjoyable -- and the critical need to protect them.”

Each video contains a personal story from the artist telling why they chose their tree. The videos can be seen at Nature.org.

"We tend to take the natural world around us for granted,” says Americana artist Tim O’Brien. “So we're lucky that the Nature Conservancy is there to remind us of the incredible riches right there at our fingertips. They urge us to look out our window and witness the beauty, the logic and the creative life force embodied in a tree."

See a list of the artists featured and their chosen trees below.

Rodney Atkins -- Eastern redbud
Big Kenny highlights the benefits of trees
Suzy Bogguss -- flowering dogwood
Jerry Douglas -- red maple
Mike Farris -- Eastern red cedar
The Fisk Jubilee Singers -- bald cypress
Ben Folds -- sweetgum
Giancarlo Guerrero of the Nashville Symphony -- green ash
Will Hoge -- willow oak
Taylor Hicks -- sweetbay magnolia
Jim Lauderdale -- sugarberry
Reba McEntire -- pin oak
Tim O’Brien -- chinkapin oak
Kim Richey -- sycamore
Jason Ringenberg -- hackberry
Ketch Secor -- osage orange
Webb Wilder -- blue spruce
Victor Wooten -- black walnut