As many mayors and city planners have learned, enhancing a community’s scenic appeal often is as valid a factor for growth as expanding the local industrial or recreational park.

Letson, who coordinates the Urban and Community Financial Assistance program, believes urban forestry grants can enhance communities in a variety of ways, such as helping them chart long-term forestry plans and better manage existing resources.

"These grants can provide communities with lots of opportunities – even at the most basic level of improving the way trees are planted," he says.

In some cases, communities have even used grant money to hire full-time foresters to manage local forestry sources more effectively.

Greenville is particularly noteworthy, Letson says, because it shows what a small town can do with an urban forestry grant.

"Very early in the history of the urban forestry program, Greenville’s mayor decided that the city needed one person to be in charge of its landscape program," Letson says. "The idea of an urban forestry program appealed to him and fit his goal of consolidating all of his city’s landscape functions under one person."

What began as a one-person operation has now expanded into a staff of people with a broad range of responsibilities.

"You can see the result," Letson says. "The city is becoming greener with more trees, and this is due in large part to the multifaceted nature of their landscaping program.

Other communities, such as Mobile, have used the grant money to enhance the work of existing landscape management programs.

"Mobile is probably the premiere example in our state," Letson says. "They have received grant funds every year since 1991."

"They already had good staffing and equipment, but they lacked the funds for training their staff and bringing in experts from the outside to assess their program. These grants have enabled them to go the extra mile and improve the professionalism of their tree program."

"Using the grants, they’ve also been able to acquire new technology," he adds, "which probably makes Mobile’s program the most unique of all our programs."

To many people, urban forestry may seem like a contradiction in terms. But, as Letson explains, it reflects an emerging trend in many parts of the state.

"Alabama is urbanizing," Letson says. "And as cities expand into what was rural countryside, they’re absorbing many forests and natural ecosystems."

"These new resources have presented many municipal leaders with the challenge of managing these resources in a way that enhances the life of the citizens of the community."

"In fact, as many municipal leaders have learned, effective management of these resources not only can improve quality of life but can even enhance the community’s economic profile."

The Urban and Community Forestry Financial Assistance Program is administered by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System with support from Auburn University School of Forestry, Alabama Forestry Commission, Alabama Urban Forestry Association, and the U.S. Forest Service.

More than $400,000 in competitive funds is available in Alabama for county and city governments, nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher learning. To qualify, nonprofit organizations will have to be federally exempt 501 C3 or related organizations.

While individual grants are limited to $10,000, applicants who seek to hire an urban forester can apply for up to $20,000. However, exceptions to this limit will occur in cases where the project proposals fulfill state funding priorities.

To assist community leaders who may be interested in applying for these grants, two grant-writing workshops will be held March 19 at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and March 21 at the Greenville City Library.

For more information about these workshops and/or the Urban and Community Financial Assistance program, contact Neil Letson at (334) 240-9360.