Tree recovery for tornado-damaged areas

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WALA) - The Alabama Tree Recovery Campaign will kick off the distribution of thousands of trees to homeowners and residents at an event on Monday, February 6, at 10:30 a.m. in Tuscaloosa.

The distribution center will be at 101 15th Street East, the former location of Mike & Ed’s Barbeque.

Alabama First Lady Dianne Bentley, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, and other distinguished guests – including a number of state senators and representatives – will join State Forester Linda Casey and Arbor Day Foundation officials to announce the 16 initial communities across North Alabama that will receive 30,000 tree seedlings over the next few days.

Each of these communities was devastated by the April 2011 tornados.

The communities include Cordova, Cullman, Fyffe, Glen Allen, Hanceville, Ider, Jasper, Lakeview, Oakman, Ohatchee, Pleasant Grove, Reform, Shiloh, Sipsey, Tuscaloosa, and Vance.

This large-scale, multi-year initiative was launched jointly in June 2011 by the Arbor Day Foundation and the Alabama Forestry Commission to support the recovery of the tree-lined streets, shaded parks, and beautiful neighborhoods of Alabama as they were before the tornados.

The campaign’s ultimate goal is to restore the state’s urban and community forests to their former beauty and strength.

The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation and education organization of more than one million members, with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees.

More information on the Foundation and its programs can be found at www.arborday.org .

The Alabama Forestry Commission is a state agency committed to protecting, conserving, and increasing Alabama’s forest resource. For more information, visit www.forestry.alabama.gov .