Environmental lawyers and UA law students will replant trees destroyed in the April 27 tornado in a Tuscaloosa park Sat., Jan. 28.
The UA School of Law Environmental Law Society received a large donation from the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources to replant lost trees in Rosedale Park. In addition, several SEER members will join students in the work. Participating students will meet at the law school at 10 a.m., and a barbecue lunch will be served after the tree planting.
Evelyn McKinney, UA’s American Bar Association representative, said the event will be an opportunity for students to not only serve the community, but also to meet future employers.
“The goal is to plant trees in service to Tuscaloosa,” McKinney said. “But this is also a chance to help students who want to be environmental lawyers come and work with environmental lawyers. They can really get their hands dirty with environmental lawyers and do some networking.”
The Environmental Law Society worked closely with the city of Tuscaloosa and the Park and Recreation Authority in coordinating the tree planting.
Jeff Bryant, horticulturist for the city of Tuscaloosa, said the site choice has significance.
“Rosedale Park is in the area where the storm first hit the ground,” Bryant said. “The law students said they wanted to make the symbolic gesture of planting there.”
Jay Strickland, director of park operations for the Park and Recreation Authority, estimated the damage parks received are between $750,000 and $1 million. He said that some of the damage is hard to quantify, however.
“That estimation is a relative term,” Strickland said. “Many of the trees lost were 100 and 150 years old. That is something that is hard to put a dollar amount on.”
Bryant said he is grateful for the contributions of ABA SEER and the Environmental Law Society.
“The city appreciates their efforts and the money they spent on the trees,” Bryant said. “There is no way the city could have replanted the trees immediately. Anything like this helps out a lot.”
Strickland agreed these efforts are appreciated.
“We are very blessed to have people concerned for our parks and for areas that the public uses,” Strickland said. “A lot of times, when you have a catastrophe such as this, it is more important to take care of people’s homes and infrastructure first.
“Sometimes things such as parks are way down the list of what gets help. It is a wonderful gesture to bring something to give back to the community that was one of the hardest hit.”
McKinney welcomed all students interested in environmental law to participate in Saturday’s tree planting. If interested, RSVP with Scott Frechette at [email protected].
