Environmental group plans native tree planting initiative

An ancient forest is hiding in plain sight in Homewood’s backyards, parks and wooded areas. Native trees such as post oak, red hickory, persimmon and black gum trees are remnants of the vast forests that covered Homewood before the city’s earliest days.

Homewood’s native tree population has declined due to commercial development, disease, damage and old age, according to Homewood Environmental Commission (HEC) member-at-large Arnie Rutkis. Nurseries typically do not sell these species, so if the native trees die out in Homewood, they are lost for good. 

“A lot of these native trees that we’re promoting, they’re not available in the nursery trade,” Rutkis said. “They’re part of an older forest system that predated settlement in the area.”

The Birmingham Botanical Gardens and the HEC have started a tree planting program to make sure these native trees continue to grow and thrive in the future.

“The idea of this project was to collect local seeds from trees we know were part of the original forest,” said Birmingham Botanical Gardens Education Director Henry Hughes. “There’s a historic element to it. We’re perpetuating the original trees.”

The planting program will only use locally sourced seeds, including Woodland Park’s red and shagbark hickories as well as sycamore and yellow poplar from the Sims Ecoscape in Edgewood. This not only preserves the original environment, but also supports butterflies and migratory birds that depend on trees blooming at a specific time. 

The Homewood City Council has given $10,000 for the program to buy and plant two dozen overcup oaks on Central Avenue, which will be planted in the fall. HEC has also begun scouting Homewood for historic trees and areas that could benefit from additional plant life. However, Hughes said the project’s success depends on public involvement.

In the fall, residents can help harvest seeds from specific historic trees around the city. The HEC will provide information about harvesting techniques and tree identification. The seeds will then be grown into seedlings at the botanical gardens’ nursery and can be planted in fall 2015. The Ecoscape will also distribute native seedlings to replant.

Scout troops, church groups and local schools can all help with planting the seedlings in parks or other public spaces. Hughes also hopes to see many residents planting the trees in their own yards.

“Everyone wants the city to plant trees, and then they want the city to take care of them,” Hughes said. “But our feeling is that if people want trees, they should plant them at home where they have room to grow.”

The idea for this project was born out of the botanical gardens’ previous replanting project with the Little Garden Club and Red Mountain Garden Club. Over five years, the program replanted 1,500 seedlings in several parks, including George Ward Park, Avondale Park and Red Mountain Park. After the project ended, Hughes decided to transplant the idea to his own Homewood community with the help of the HEC.

Hughes hopes the replanting project will become an annual event and ensure the safety of the trees that have populated Homewood for thousands of years.

“We want it to go on every year and be a positive thing for Homewood,” Hughes said.

To learn more about the tree planting project, call Hughes at 414-3950.