‘Green Skies Over Homewood’ continues with tree planting
About 70 volunteers helped the Homewood Environmental Commission plant native tree seedlings along the Lakeshore Greenway on Saturday as part of the ongoing “Green Skies Over Homewood” initiative, a long-term community effort to rebuild Homewood’s tree canopy.
The planting – which was aided by cool, sunny weather – was led by nearby Samford University, and about 45 Samford students were among the volunteers, according to HEC at-large member Amy Milam, who worked at the check-in table for the event near the Daxko building.
The HEC’s seedling program began as an expansion of the 2009 Birmingham Botanical Gardens campaign started by Henry Hughes to replenish trees in Birmingham’s parks.
Volunteers collect seeds from certain tree species, and then they are germinated in greenhouses at the Gardens until it is time to plant them. This is the third season of collecting and planting in Homewood
The cooperation between Samford University and the HEC on the Lakeshore tree-planting was “kind of a natural partnership because of the proximity to campus,” said Amber Kustos, Samford’s coordinator of environmental outreach and stewardship and campus enhancement, who took part in the planting.
Kustos credits Samford biology professor Betsy Dobbin with getting the school involved.
Planting seeds collected from native species is critical to the “Green Skies” initiative, according to HEC member and landscape architect Jane Reed Ross.
“When we plant trees from nurseries… those trees can come from Texas, Florida, Georgia,” she said Saturday. “They’re not our native trees, and our native trees to the best here in this climate and soil type, so if we collect seed and grow local trees, they do much better. They survive drought better.”
The Samford student volunteers, including Samantha Glaze and Isabel Girling, seemed to enjoy taking part.
“It’s a beautiful day to plant trees,” Glaze said, adding that she and Girling “were just excited to get out and help the community and get to plant some trees on the Lakeshore Trail.”
“I am in biology class with Samantha, and (the instructor) told us how erosion happens and how to prevent that,” Girling said, as she and Glaze dug a hole for a seedling.
Alabama Power crews took part in the effort on Friday by clearing mimosa and privet at the western trailhead at Green Springs Highway near the soccer fields, according to Ross. “It is our hope with all that invasive plant material cleared, that next year we will be able to go and plant seedlings in that place and then move on down the creek and do a section each year and try to keep the invasives at bay,” she said.
Hughes oversaw a crew of volunteers who were putting in seedlings at the western trailhead.
“We’re planting trees along this very hot, dry slope,” he said as a crew used an augur to dig holes for planting. “We’re going to a lot of effort to do good tree establishment here. These are all native trees from the forest right around here, so the seed is local. The trees are adaptable to this are, so they should survive very well.”
Ross said that the HEC is also working with the people who manage the office complexes along the greenway to make sure that their maintenance crews do mow down the new seedlings, something that happened some last years.
The seedlings were also planted this year with stakes and collars, according to Ross.
“We are also working with Homewood Park and Recreation as well, just to make sure that we are not making their lives harder (or) planting in places they need to mow,” Milam said.
At the event Saturday, the HEC sold native trees grown from seeds collected by community members and germinated at the Botanical Gardens. The trees are also available for planting at any time during the year, according to Milam.
“We are also still asking people to collect seeds for us,” Milam said. “They can be taken to Henry Hughes at the Botanical Gardens or they can contact a member of the Homewood Environmental Commission,” she said.
To learn more about the program, go to the HEC Facebook page.