“Pride.”

That was the buzzword tossed around Saturday morning as several volunteers met at the section of the Tweetsie Trail near Mary Patton Highway in Elizabethton for a tree-planting project. Saturday’s event, spearheaded by Carter County Proud and Elizabethton Parks & Rec, was used as a way to celebrate Arbor Day and add some extra foliage on the trail for the public to take pride in walking or biking through the area.

“It was great to see all the different volunteers show up for today’s project,” said Ed Jordan, Carter County Proud. “This really shows the community does care about our city and it’s great to see everyone take pride in the area. With the more pride people have in the city, the less we’ll see trash and litter scattered around the trail.”

Saturday’s endeavor is the first of a few projects coming through the pipeline to help add some color to portions of the Tweetsie Trail in Elizabethton, according to Jordan.

Carter County Proud and Parks & Rec received help from various entities for the project. Lowe’s of Elizabethton provided a majority of the trees while Grindstaff helped by letting volunteers have access to their water. Workers, ranging from county commissioners to private citizens, spent several hours laying mulch and planting the foliage. Even under the beating sun, it was hard to take away the smiles from each of the volunteers’ faces.

“This is one of those projects we feel so good about because we’re not only able to help this great group of volunteers, but we’re able to work with them directly,” Mike Mains, Parks & Rec director, said Saturday. “This has been such a team effort, all the way from this group, to Lowe’s, to the city’s street department who helps maintain this trail.

“Today has been great for the fact we have been able to build relationships with one another just by working together. For me, that’s fantastic to see,” Mains continued. “We all have the common goal of wanting to give back to our community.”

Mains added that opportunities are available for any civic organizations or groups wanting to help with maintenance or planting trees on the Tweetsie Trail.

“We’re always looking at ways to help make the trail more inviting for people that come through the city,” Mains said. “If anyone is wanting to work on a project, we would definitely encourage them to get involved.”

According to Jordan, Carter County Proud is looking at spots along the trail for further beautification. The organization is also looking to capitalize on the recent momentum of cleanups by promoting their group’s mission on social media.

“We’re going to keep moving forward with our goal of beautifying the area,” Jordan said. “I have noticed a significant decrease of trash starting to stick, especially on the highway heading to Johnson City. There’s still some trash out, but nowhere near as bad as it has been.”

Mains also encouraged the public to be conscious when attending parks in the coming weeks.

“We have a busy picnic season coming up at our parks. The pavilions tend to be one of the more popular things,” Mains said. “We just ask the public to be conscious about the trash when they come to visit.”

Members of the public wanting to get involved with future beautification projects along the trail can contact Parks & Rec at (423) 547-6441 or visit the Carter County Proud Facebook page online for more information.