Volunteers plant native trees along Shades Creek Greenway

About 80 volunteers tried to make Homewood a little bit greener by taking part in the annual planting of native tree seedlings along the Shades Creek Greenway on Saturday, Nov. 4.

The event was organized by Homewood Environmental Commission and Samford University, who are in the third year of their five-year partnership to conduct the plantings, and is also part of the HEC’s ongoing “Green Skies Over Homewood” initiative.

It is gratifying for organizers to see the progress along the Greenway since the program started in 2014, according to HEC Chair Amy Milam.

”I love coming back to the greenway each year, and seeing how the seedlings have grown,” she said. “We can see the impact every time we come back out here.”

The planting Saturday, which took advantage of sunny, unseasonably warm weather, drew many volunteers from among the students, staff and faculty of Samford University, located just across Lakeshore Drive, as well as the Homewood High School Environmental Club.

There were also about 30 Homewood residents, as well as volunteers from Homewood Scout Troops 95 and 386, according to Milam.

This year, volunteers planted 225 tree seedlings along the greenway and an additional 60 trees in the Beeson Woods on the front of the Samford campus near Lakeshore.

Some of the trees in Beeson Woods had been stressed by drought and killed by a fungus after heavy rains, according to Henry Hughes of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, who collects the native seedlings that are planted along the Greenway.

The period of October and November is “the prime time” to plant trees, because strong root growth over the fall and winter makes for healthier trees, according to Hughes.

“You get good establishment, and the trees will take any drought that comes at them,” he said.

HEC also keeps another 100 trees for planting during the year by Homewood residents for a $5-$10 donation per plant.

Homewood Park & Recreation and Alabama Power provide a lot of support to the project, according to Milam.

They help clear non-invasive species, including privet hedge and mimosa, haul away debris, donate some materials and do site preparation.

She said Park & Recreation also helps tend to the trees after planting and plants native trees at other locations during the year.

To learn more about the Green Skies program, go to the HEC Facebook page at @hwd.hec.