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Trees for Alabama , begun by Region 2020 in 2000, is a group that
focuses on promoting, protecting, and planting trees in rural, urban,
and developed environments throughout the 12 counties in Central Alabama
.
More than 1,000 trees were planted during 2002-2003.
In 2003, the organization worked with Princeton Hospital and Hands-on- Birmingham to plant more than 300 trees in the Princeton area of Birmingham . In November, the group held a "State of the Trees" Forum in conjunction with the Storm Water Management Authority.
The organization hosts a tree summit annually. Trees for Alabama also supports The Birmingham Botanical Gardens by paying for its membership in The International Society of Arboriculture, a scientific and educational organization in Champaign , IL that has served the tree care industry for more than 70 years.
The group is currently working with the City of Hoover to develop a regional tree grow-out center at Spain Park.
Trees for Alabama is a 501(c)(3) organization with a 15-member board and a volunteer executive director, Brian Darr, based in Northport. David Lee is board president. Membership is at more than 150 statewide. For more information, call Trees for Alabama toll-free, 877-633-tree (8733).
Special Note:
In an editorial after Region 2020 announced the non-profit, The Birmingham News applauded the group for its efforts to "protect green spaces and help restore the tree cover that has been lost in the 12 counties. Bulldozing trees for houses, shopping centers and pavement, the daily pointed out, means more polluted runoff, drier and dirtier air, hotter surface temperatures and a significant esthetic loss. Urging the public and private sectors to help reverse the trend, the daily says municipalities should tighten up ordinances to make developers save trees, while counties, hamstrung by their lack of zoning power, should encourage developers to do the same. State and local agencies, the daily adds, must identify sites for parks, watershed protection and wildlife preservation - well before they disappear under concrete."
-- Smart Growth Online: Nov. 30, 2000
