| The programmatic change improve the seedlings' survival rate from 40 percent to 80 percent. |
Most people think of diamonds or jewelry when thinking of a lasting Valentine's Day gift for the one they love. Some residents in coastal Alabama, however, are celebrating that special day by planting a cypress tree—a gift that truly keeps on giving, say the event planners, who also throw in a bag of candy and a certificate for the intended.
"We have everyone from 3-year-olds to 76-year-olds who participate," says Cathy Barnette, executive director of the Alabama Coastal Foundation, which sponsors the Cypress Tree Planting Project. "They like it because it's something really tangible and it makes a difference."
The fifth annual Cypress Tree Planting will be held this year on February 19. The tie-in to Valentine's Day started last year when the day of the planting fell on February 14. The novelty of the marketing strategy generated additional interest and publicity, so it will be kept around for at least one more year, Barnette says.
Last year, more than 80 volunteers came out on a cold and rainy day to plant 3,000 trees in the state's two coastal counties, and almost a dozen more paid $10 to have a tree planted in the name of a loved one.
The Cypress Tree Planting Project was the brainchild of Buzz Sierke, a board member of the nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to improving and protecting Alabama's coastal resources.
Barnette recounts the story of how Sierke was having lunch one day and saw a dozen birds roosting in a lone cypress tree. When he noticed there were only two more cypress trees within a mile of where he sat, Sierke realized something needed to be done to provide more habitat.
The first planting was held in 2001 in just one location, Barnette says. "It was really just a planting project" for the first two years. In the third year, staff members and volunteers revamped the program to become more of a habitat restoration effort.
Using the Coastal Cleanup program as a model, they found site captains who gather the volunteers and facilitate the planting throughout the coastal area. Another board member, who is a wetlands ecologist, helps identify appropriate sites for planting five different native tree species.
The programmatic change improved the seedlings' survival rate from 40 percent to 80 percent, says Angela Montgomery, the foundation's programs director. To date, she says, more than 15,000 trees have been planted on about 15 sites. In 2003, the project received a Coastal America Spirit Award.
Montgomery and Barnette say if there is better weather this year on planting day, they expect more than 100 volunteers to spend half their Saturday planting bare root seedlings.
"I do believe that environmental, conservation-minded people are looking for something different to do for Valentine's Day," Barnette says. "Why not say, 'I'm stuck on you,' while sticking a shovel in the ground and restoring our coastal habitats?"
For more information on the Alabama Coastal Foundation's Cypress Tree Planting Project, point your browser to http://www.alcoastalfoundation.org. You also may contact Cathy Barnette at (251) 990-6002, or cbarnette@alcoastalfoundation.org.
