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Why the Red Rock Trail matters

In 1925, renowned landscape architects Fredrick Law Olmsted, Jr. and John Charles Olmstead designed a plan for Birmingham that included parks within walking distance of every home. A planned network of open green spaces along low-lying creeks and high ridge lines would connect these parks to each other and their surrounding neighborhoods.  Unfortunately, this plan…

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20 for 20 Anniversary Challenge

Make your gift via paypal The Fresh­wa­ter Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) orga­ni­za­tion there­fore your con­tri­bu­tion is tax deductible. A hiking trail. A fishing hole. A backyard creek. Why do these places matter? What are they worth to you? What if with just $20, you can ensure they are preserved forever? Over the past 20…

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New Staff Q&A: Carolyn Buck

Carolyn Buck recently joined the Freshwater Land Trust team. We sat down with her to find out her plans for the future and learn what she is looking most forward to in her new role. Q: Where are you from? I am a native of Texas and graduated from Baylor University with a degree in…

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Red Rock Tuesday Featuring Zyp Bikeshare Birmingham

Next Tuesday, November 1, we will be featuring Zyp Bikeshare Birmingham at its Smithfield station on our monthly segment of Red Rock Tuesday. Zyp Bikeshare comprises 40 kiosks and 400 bikes across the Birmingham area. This program began in October of 2015 and allows all residents and visitors 24-hour access to bikes every day of…

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Red Rock Tuesday feat. Parks Rx

Next week, October 4, we will be filming our October segment of Red Rock Tuesday featuring Parks Rx. This new program was officially launched by Birmingham REACH for Better Health on September 22. The Parks Prescription program, which is led by the UAB Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center, is an initiative to increase…

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Norwood Boulevard Blast 5k

This coming Saturday, September 24, the Norwood Resource Center (NRC), a non-profit organization founded as a grassroots initiative, will be hosting its third annual Boulevard Blast 5K and Fun Run/Walk. All proceeds from this event will benefit the Norwood Resource Center and the residents of the Norwood Community. Norwood is a critical connection to the…

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Freshwater Land Trust Welcomes Libba Vaughan

  This is an exciting year at the Freshwater Land Trust as we celebrate our 20th anniversary. Over the past two decades, we’ve accomplished great things for land conservation in Central Alabama through the support of our outstanding partners and supporters. While we continue to expand our footprint and take a step into the next…

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20 Species: Confederate Daisy

High on the secluded ridges of the Freshwater Land Trust’s private preserve on Double Oak Mountain, towering over suburban Shelby County, grows a hardy and rare flower. Sprouting from its sandstone outcrops, its yellow petals bloom in brilliant bursts of color against the opaque surfaces of the surrounding rocks. This flower is the Confederate daisy. Native to…

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20 Projects: Civil Rights Trail

During the Civil Rights Movement, Birmingham, Alabama became the site of history. During the 1963 civil rights campaign, the Alabama metropolis was plunged into the national, televised spotlight as African-Americans, of all ages and genders and led by Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., staged non-violent protests against Birmingham’s segregation codes…

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Q&A: Drew Pendleton

As summer comes to an end, we’re saying, “see you later” to several of our interns. We sat down with Drew Pendleton, our summer PR and communications intern thanks to the Curtis & Edith Munson Foundation, to reflect on his experience with the Freshwater Land Trust. Q: What is the most valuable lesson you learned…

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20 Projects: Cosby Lake

Nearly 20 miles northeast of downtown Birmingham lies the city of Clay, Alabama. Part rural community, part Birmingham suburb, the city stretches from the edges of Center Point and Trussville into increasingly rural terrain. However, Clay has a special distinction for its location: it’s right in the sweet spot of the Turkey Creek watershed, a…

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Q&A: Americorps VISTA Volunteers Adam & Evan

Q&A: Americorps Volunteers Adam & Evan As we move into the final stretch of summer, we’re taking the time to sit down with our outgoing team members. After joining the Freshwater Land Trust team in August 2015, Americorps VISTA volunteers Adam Greene and Evan Sznajderman have become valued members of the FWLT family. In their…

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Freshwater Land Trust Announces Leadership Changes

After 15 years of leadership as Executive Director, “Mother Nature’s Real Estate Agent” Wendy Jackson is bidding farewell to the Freshwater Land Trust and has been named as Executive Vice President of the national Land Trust Alliance. The national Land Trust Alliance (LTA) is a land conservation organization that works with over 1,000 land trusts…

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Upcoming Red Rock Tuesday in Homewood

It’s time again for another Red Rock Tuesday! On August 2, we will be filming the August installment of Red Rock Tuesday with Jeh Jeh Pruitt and the Good Day Alabama team at the Homewood Forest Preserve, a 65-acre tract of land tucked away behind Homewood High School. FWLT recently hosted a workday at this…

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20 Projects: Village Creek

At the Freshwater Land Trust, we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary of helping preserve and conserve the landscape of central Alabama. Over the next few months, we’ll give you in-depth looks into some of our most prominent projects, from downtown Birmingham to rural Blount County and everywhere in between. From its humble headwaters outside the eastern…

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Workday with Vulcan Materials at McCallum Park

In the early morning sunrise over Vestavia Hills, McCallum Park was bustling. Trucks and cars filled the red rock parking lot. On one end sat a mountain of gravel; on the lawn across the lot, a Ford F150 pickup and a Ford Taurus. This was the scene on July 14, when teams from the Freshwater…

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20 Species: Pygmy Sculpin

Alabama’s biological diversity is frequently cited as one of the best in the nation. However, within that diversity, there are a few select species that make their home in Alabama, and in Alabama alone. One of these species resides in Coldwater Spring near the city of Anniston, rendering it in a way Calhoun County’s smallest…

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20 Projects: High Ore Line & Trail

At the Freshwater Land Trust, we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary of helping preserve and conserve the landscape of central Alabama. Over the next few months, we’ll give you in-depth looks into some of our most prominent projects, from downtown Birmingham to rural Blount County and everywhere in between. In Midfield, an industrial suburb of Birmingham…

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20 Champions: Bishop Johnson

Behind Faith Apostolic Church in Powderly, a neighborhood southwest of downtown Birmingham, weaves a peaceful gravel and rock path. This path leads to a concealed spring that houses the endangered watercress darter, a tiny, colorful fish found exclusively in five Jefferson County springs. After Dr. Mike Howell, who discovered the fish in 1964, found it…

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20 Species: Rough Hornsnail

In the currents of the Lower Coosa River and Shelby County’s Yellow Leaf Creek, there is a small but sharp species making its way through the water. It’s a species all its own, completely unique from all other members of its genus. It has spike-like nodules within the spiral on its pyramid-like shell, with a…

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20 Projects: Tapawingo Springs

At the Freshwater Land Trust, we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary of helping preserve and conserve the landscape of central Alabama. Over the next few months, we’ll give you in-depth looks into some of our most prominent projects, from downtown Birmingham to rural Blount County and everywhere in between. In a secluded swampland off Tapawingo Road,…

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Upcoming Red Rock Tuesday

It’s about that time to gear up for our next Red Rock Tuesday with Jeh Jeh Pruitt and the Good Day Alabama Team! On July 12, we will be filming our July edition of Red Rock Tuesday beginning at 7:00 a.m. at the Gardendale Soccer Complex, where there’s a new project taking its first steps…

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20 Projects: Rotary Trail

At the Freshwater Land Trust, we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary of helping preserve and conserve the landscape of central Alabama. Over the next few months, we’ll give you in-depth looks into some of our most prominent projects, from downtown Birmingham to rural Blount County and everywhere in between. During Birmingham’s industrial age, railroad tracks once…

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20 Champions: Holli Watts

As we celebrate our 20th anniversary at the Freshwater Land Trust, we’re taking time to reflect on our past success stories, while also looking to the future as we take a step into the next era of conservation. Over the course of the next few months, we’ll give you interviews with the Land Trust’s leadership,…

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20 Projects: Double Oak Mountain

At the Freshwater Land Trust, we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary of helping preserve and conserve the landscape of central Alabama. Over the next few months, we’ll give you in-depth looks into some of our most prominent projects, from downtown Birmingham to rural Blount County and everywhere in between. Rising steeply above the central Alabama landscape…

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20 Species: Cahaba Shiner

Free-flowing for 194 miles through the state of Alabama – the last river of its kind in the state – the Cahaba River plays home to a diverse population of various species. One of these species is an olive and silver fish that takes part of its name from its watery home: the Cahaba shiner.…

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20 Years Ago: Wendy Jackson

As we celebrate our 20th anniversary at the Freshwater Land Trust, we’re taking time to reflect on our past success stories, while also looking to the future as we take a step into the next era of conservation. Over the course of the next few months, we’ll give you interviews with the Land Trust’s leadership,…

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20 Species: Black Warrior Waterdog

While it’s also referred to as a “mud puppy,” the Black Warrior waterdog is canine in name only. Rather, it’s a current candidate for the federal endangered species list that calls various forks of the upper Black Warrior River drainage home. Spread out over Blount, Tuscaloosa, Walker and Winston counties in central Alabama, the Black…

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The Locust Fork Mitigation Bank

Northeast of the city of Birmingham in the rolling farmlands of Blount County, big days are ahead for a 111-acre swath of land in the Locust Fork Watershed. A new cooperative project between Westervelt Ecological Services and the Freshwater Land Trust, the Locust Fork mitigation bank will restore and rehabilitate this stretch of land in…

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20 Species: The Rush Darter

In the Tombigbee-Black Warrior drainage in central Alabama lives one special little fish that calls three central Alabama watersheds and their cool, clear, shallow freshwater streams home. The rush darter (etheostoma phytophilum) can only be found in the Turkey Creek, Cove Creek and Clear Creek watersheds within Alabama’s Jefferson, Etowah and Winston counties, respectively. Once…

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20 Species: Flattened Musk Turtle

At the Freshwater Land Trust, we protect more than just water and land; we protect many different species: plants and animals alike. In our 20th year, we are recognizing 20 species that we have protected and continue to protect today. One of those species is the flattened musk turtle. The flattened musk turtle (Sternotherus depressus)…

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20 Donors – Bob and Ann Tate

Bob and Ann Tate, long-time wildflower and bird enthusiast, own 14-acres of beautiful property covered in wildflowers on the Cahaba River. After their two sons grew up and moved out-of-state, they built a home on their property nestled in the middle of the woods. In 2004, their love for their property and its memories encouraged…

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Upcoming Red Rock Tuesday

It’s that time again! We’re kicking off the start of spring with a Red Rock Tuesday at Rotary Trail next week! On Tuesday, April 5th at 7:00 a.m., we will be filming our monthly Red Rock Tuesday with Fox 6 Good Day Alabama at the brand new Rotary Trail. The grand opening of the Rotary…

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Yellow-Coated Cars Mean Beautiful Spring Flowers

It’s that time of year again when trees and flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing and our cars are continuously draped with a yellow coat of pollen. Although pollen triggers allergies for many, it is often misunderstood. Pollen is produced by all seed plants, not just flowering plants, and is released in the air all…

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20 Species Worth Saving – The Cave Salamander

The brilliant orange color with black spots from head to tail makes the cave salamander a memorable species. Typically found in limestone caves, around natural springs or around rocky outcrops, cave salamanders have wide and flat heads, large eyes and long prehensile tails that give them exceptional balance when climbing about their rocky habitats. Their…

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World Water Day

Today is an international observance day for water related issues. The United Nations General Assembly designated March 22 as World Water Day in 1993, and it has been held annually since then. Today, almost half of the world’s workers — 1.5 billion people — work in water related sectors and nearly all jobs depend on…

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Good Water = Good Beer

Water is an essential part of beer — 90 percent to be exact. As local craft breweries have become more popular, local water quality has become ever more important. Water quality not only affects the flavor of the beer, but it also affects how it supports the yeast, which then eats sugar and turns into…

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Irondale Riverwalk reopens for spring paddlers

  The new and improved Irondale Riverwalk at Grants Mill Road was unveiled earlier this month and is now open to the public just in time for spring! This newly designed canoe launch provides easy access to the Cahaba River for outdoor enthusiasts of any skill level. With funding from the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, the…

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20 Donors – The Howards

At the Freshwater Land Trust, we believe conservation work is more than preserving the natural environment—it’s about preserving a way of life. James and Olivia Howard believe that, too. In the early 2000s, the Howards gave an outright fee simple donation to the Freshwater Land Trust, permanently preserving their 167 acres on the Cahaba River.…

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20 Species Worth Saving – The Vermillion Darter

At the Freshwater Land Trust, we work to not only save greenspaces, but also save the natural habitats located on or around those greenspaces. Since this is our 20th year of conserving land in Central Alabama, we are celebrating 20 species whose habitats have been preserved over the past 20 years. First… the Vermillion darter…

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Celebrating 20 Years in Conservation

In celebration of our 20th anniversary and the people, partners and places that have made our conservation work possible, the Freshwater Land Trust is excited to start off the next 20 years with a fresh look. The past few years have been monumental for the Land Trust, as our mission has grown in both scale…

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Double Oak Mountain Acquisition

Two miles of ridgeline on Double Oak Mountain preserved forever. BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—For more than 60 years, Double Oak Mountain has represented a family’s legacy. Over the years, this family watched as dirt roads turned to asphalt and pine forests turned to brick homes. Although the mountain was changing in front of their eyes, their legacy…

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Meet Kaitlin Goins

Kaitlin Goins is returning after two years (and a lot of experience in between) to head up communications efforts for the Freshwater Land Trust. She interned with FWLT in the summer of 2014. Originally from Ardmore, Alabama, Kaitlin is a senior, dual-degree student at the University of Alabama and will graduate in May with a…

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2016 Pheasant Hunt

We’re gearing up for our annual Pheasant Shoot at Westevelt Lodge on February 26th! Join us and other conservation-minded partners and friends for a fun day of bird hunting and fellowship. Hunters will enjoy a continental style pheasant shoot and home-cooked Southern style lunch served at the beautiful, rustic, and historical Westervelt Lodge, one of…

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REACH Birmingham

Poor nutrition, physical inactivity, poverty—these are all factors contributing to dangerous chronic diseases and the largest health disparities in underserved Birmingham communities. The Freshwater Land Trust is working to combat these health disparities by joining forces with several local organizations as part of “Birmingham REACH for better health.”   What is REACH? “Birmingham REACH for…

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Conserving the Cahaba

JAMES & OLIVIA HOWARD DONATE CAHABA RIVER PROPERTY TO FRESHWATER LAND TRUST Preserving a Way of Life At the Freshwater Land trust, we believe conservation work is more than preserving the natural environment—we believe it’s about preserving a way of life. Our priority is to honor the relationship between a family and its land, so…

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Rotary Honored

Rotary Club of Birm­ing­ham Hon­ored as Water Con­ser­va­tion­ist of the Year by AWF The cel­e­bra­tion of the Governor’s Con­ser­va­tion Achieve­ment Awards continues! While the Fresh­wa­ter Land Trust brought home the AWF Con­ser­va­tion Orga­ni­za­tion of the Year Award, the Rotary Club of Birm­ing­ham was also hon­ored as Water Con­ser­va­tion­ist of the Year Award for their out­stand­ing efforts with the…

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Land Aid 2015

The Freshwater Land Trust is excited to announce that their 7th annual Land Aid event will be held on Friday, July 31, at Avondale Brewery. The event will be headlined by Kopecky, an American indie-rock band. Nashville-based Kopecky (formerly the Kopecky Family Band) recently released their sophomore album, Drug for the Modern Age. Kopecky has…

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Conservation Awards

The Fresh­wa­ter Land Trust  was recently selected as the Con­ser­va­tion Orga­ni­za­tion of the Year for the Alabama Wildlife Federation’s Governor’s Con­ser­va­tion Achieve­ment Awards! For more than 40 years, this award has rec­og­nized orga­ni­za­tions that make last­ing con­tri­bu­tions to con­ser­va­tion in Alabama. The Con­ser­va­tion Orga­ni­za­tion of the Year Award is a part of the Governor’s Con­ser­va­tion Achieve­ment…

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Partner Happenings

Father Nature Land­scapes, one of our Cor­po­rate Part­ners for Con­ser­va­tion, recently revis­ited Turkey Creek for the final round of plant­i­ngs on the newly formed stream­bank fol­low­ing our removal of Old Shadow Lake Dam. Daniel McCurry and his crew at Father Nature have worked tire­lessly on this dif­fi­cult project, and will have planted nearly 100 native plants and trees…

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Donor Spotlight

BOB AND ANN TATE: MAK­ING A DIF­FER­ENCE TODAY AND FOREVER Bob and Ann Tate have walked the woods of Alabama for as long as they can remem­ber. Bob and Ann are long-time wild­flower and bird enthu­si­asts and have both served as Pres­i­dents of the Birm­ing­ham Audubon Soci­ety and Alabama Wild­flower Soci­ety. Bob has also served…

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