November brings green programs to Homewood
Not only will be there be multiple eco-friendly events during the next several weeks, the mayor of Homewood will also declare the city’s Arbor Day celebrations.
“Usually cities who celebrate Arbor Day do it in the spring, but November is the best time to plant trees, so I think it is appropriate for the mayor to declare a week or day in November,” Liz Ellaby, a member of the Homewood Environmental Commission (HEC), said.
Ellaby said HEC member Julie Price is also working on paperwork to have Homewood declared a Tree City U.S.A. The city must meet certain standards, including municipal tree management and care and Arbor Day celebrations, to achieve this designation.
One of the critical parts of the Tree City program is that the city must dedicate at least $2 per capita toward tree planting, care and removal per year. There are more than 3,400 Tree Cities in the U.S., according to the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City website.
The HEC is dedicated to bringing awareness to the importance of preserving the city’s tree canopy, as well as collecting native tree seeds and replenishing them in deforested areas, parks and public lands. They sell seedlings through their GreenSkies initiative.
There are several ways locals can get involved in green activities taking place in Birmingham this November:
► Seed collecting workshops for adults: The workshops will take place Wednesday, Nov. 8, and Saturday, Nov. 11, at 11:30 a.m. and will last an hour each.
The classes will be at Sims Gardens and focus on the importance of growing native species, where to find native plants and step-by-step instructions for planting. The focus will be on Blackgums, Red and White Oaks and native Dogwoods. Seedlings will then be maintained at Sims Greenhouse for community plantings in year 2 and 3. Reserve at spot by emailing simsgardens@gmail.com.
► Chamber Holiday Open House: On Nov. 2, certain Homewood shops will run specials and display packed seedlings on the open house night and the following week. Each store then will donate either $5 per seedling or $50 total to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens for the seedlings and offer them to interested customers.
Each seedling comes with a printed tag about the program, the type of tree and planting instructions. They are all grown from seeds collected by residents from native trees in Homewood. So far, Fabrik, Alabama Goods, Jack and Jill Shop, Four Seasons and Shaia's are participating.
► Samford Seedling Tail Planting: On Saturday, Nov. 4, Samford University and HEC will be conducting its third yearly seedling planting along the Lakeshore Trail as part of a commitment to a five-year seedling program. The public is invited to help at this event. It will take place from 8 a.m. until noon, and everyone will meet in the parking lot at 600 University Park Place.
In addition, ServisFirst purchased 46 tree seedlings from the Homewood GreenSkies Program and plans to start planting the trees in the first part of November when temperatures drop.
For further information on environmental events happening in Homewood and the GreenSkies initiative, join the Homewood Environmental Commission group on Facebook. For specific questions about HEC, email them at hwd.hec@gmail.com.