By Stuart Obermann
Community Volunteer
Huntsville is a “boom town” by any measure, as anyone who lives here can attest. One key factor in attracting and retaining new talent and families is the high quality of life we enjoy here.
A major contributor to our quality of life is our beautiful natural environment in Huntsville and the surrounding Tennessee Valley. The heavily wooded hills and valleys provide not just beautiful scenery, but also a great place to ‘escape the city’ and enjoy nature under the shade of our diverse forests and woodlands.
I am proud to serve on the board of the Land Trust of North Alabama, who have been working for over 30 years to protect many of our most beautiful and endangered natural areas. Last year the Land Trust celebrated a major milestone of having over 10,000 acres under its protection, comprising 10 large nature preserves as well as other smaller tracts across North Alabama. But despite the success of the Land Trust and other land preservation efforts, the vast majorities of lands in our community are unprotected and subject to large scale development activities.
While economic growth is important to our community, providing new businesses and workers, it also has a not-so-hidden cost as new buildings, shopping centers, and large-scale housing projects sprout up to support the influx of new jobs and people.
You don’t have to search long to see evidence of this – drive through any part of town and you will see ongoing construction– and often at the expense of the trees and other native plants that are removed to make way for concrete and steel. Sadly, even our pristine mountainsides are being stripped to make way for more homes, despite some earlier zoning regulations intended to slow slope development.
The unfortunate result of all this growth and development is the depletion of Huntsville’s tree canopy in many areas, both urban and suburban. There is, however, a way to reduce the environmental and aesthetic impact of this loss of trees, which is of course to plant new trees to replace those being lost.
While there is no replacement for a century-old oak that is lost to disease or development, we can at least plant new young trees that will someday provide the beauty and shade of their predecessors.
Alarmed by the rapid loss of mature trees in his neighborhood, local Five Points resident Jerry Berg decided to take action by creating an informal, grass-roots group called Friends of Trees – Huntsville (FoT). FoT was formed about 3 years ago and has attracted about 800 hundred members through its Facebook page.
Late last year, Jerry and his FoT collaborators recently raised over $20K from private donors as well as from City Council and County Commission officials. Working with the City’s Green Team, FoT has purchased and planted approximately 100 new trees in public locations – including Lowe Mill, the Aldridge Creek Greenway, and Philpot Park.
While these initial projects are modest in size, they demonstrate how citizens can get involved to help make a difference and invest in the future of our beautiful city. In just a few years, these young trees will begin providing shade and enhance the landscape for all of our residents.
If you’d like to learn more about Friends of Trees, or become a member, please visit our Facebook page. Let’s work together to protect and expand Huntsville’s tree canopy!
A resident of South Huntsville for over 40 years, Stuart is a recently retired serial entrepreneur, nonprofit leader and small business owner. He stays involved by volunteering on nonprofit boards and various community activities.
South Huntsville Neighbors 