A walk through the Tuscaloosa neighborhood of Forest Lake isn’t what it used to be. The April 27 tornado took what once was once a lush neighborhood of oaks and maples and made it a bleak landscape. Trees, many of them decades old, whose branches once provided shade to residents are now splintered poles, abruptly interrupting the Tuscaloosa skyline.
The Tree Restoration Program hopes to change that.
The UA Arboretum, in conjunction with the Druid City Canopy Coalition, is working to replace the trees that were lost in Tuscaloosa neighborhoods like Forest Lake. The Arboretum, with the help of volunteers, is currently storing and caring for donated trees until they are given away to area residents for free in replanting season later in the fall.
Mary Jo Modica, horticulturist at the Arboretum, said replacing these lost trees is important to the community beyond aesthetics.
“Trees do so much for the urban landscape,” Modica said. “They mitigate heat and improve water retention, not to mention provide that feeling you get from being in a forested area as opposed to full sun.”
Most of the trees, which were donated primarily from a Jacksonville, Fla. municipal nursery and a private Gordo, Ala. nursery, are native to the area. Modica encouraged residents to replant these native trees instead of ornamental ones.
“Our native trees have experienced droughts, rainy weather and everything else over the hundreds of years they have been here,” Modica said. “When you bring in a non-native tree, especially in a drought situation like we’ve been having, they don’t handle it well. They get stressed and weakened and become very susceptible to insects and disease.”
Kenneth Robinson, caretaker at the Arboretum, said he hopes the Tree Restoration Program will encourage people to choose native trees.
“If people get them free, they might feel better about them than some fancy ornamental tree,” Robinson said. “We want to restore things back to what they were for the community.”
Sarah Bradford, a UA student volunteer for the Tree Restoration Program, agreed that the goal is restoring the area.
“I think this is important in efforts to get our community back to normal,” Bradford said. “Tuscaloosa is a beautiful city and it needs to be restored as soon as possible.”
Robinson said this program will speed up the restoration process. Because the established trees are being cared for by Arboretum staff and volunteers, residents will not have to replant seedlings.
“When it comes time for replanting this fall, people can come out and get established trees, many of them that are seven or eight feet tall,” Robinson said. “We can give people a good, healthy specimen.”
In addition to volunteering for the Tree Restoration Program, Modica encouraged people to visit the Arbor Day Foundation website and donate to their restoration efforts.
“A five dollar donation is five trees for Alabama,” Modica said. “That is really great.”
For more information on how to help with the Tree Restoration Program, join the Druid City Canopy Coalition Facebook group to receive messages and updates.
