Forestry
Green Up Alabama is an initiative that looks to revitalize urban forests in small and rural communities across Alabama. Led by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, this project focuses on enhancing environmental sustainability, workforce development, and community engagement.
Project Description
Many small and rural Alabama communities lack the resources and trained workforce to manage urban forests. Existing trees are often aging or undesirable, and communities face challenges such as high poverty, limited job opportunities, and vulnerability to extreme weather. This project supports these areas by planting new trees and training local workers—including municipal, commercial, and unemployed individuals—in essential tree-care and storm-response skills. The goal is to build a safer, more skilled workforce and improve community livability.
Timeline & Objectives (5 Years)
- Plant 250+ trees in underserved communities
- Train local workers in urban forestry and arboriculture
- Promote wind- and heat-resistant trees
- Improve urban forest management through data collection and planning
Project Impact
Green Up Alabama will revitalize urban forests, enhance environmental sustainability, and expand workforce development. Communities will become more attractive, resilient, and engaged. Specialized training will open doors to higher-paying jobs in the tree-care industry, creating lasting economic and social benefits. Green Up Alabama is made possible through funding from the US Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service.
Tree Planting & Community Engagement
Green Up Alabama will work directly with municipalities, Extension offices, and community members to plant and maintain urban trees, making neighborhoods more attractive and livable. The team is currently seeking applications for the tree planting phase of the project, offering an opportunity for eligible governments, organizations, and institutions to take part in this transformative effort. Information on eligibility, requirements, and applying is in the link below.
Tree Planting Funding Application Recommended Tree Species
Workforce Development & Training
The program will provide hands-on training in communities across the state. Training topics will include chainsaw safety, electrical-hazard awareness, tree maintenance and management, and ground worker skills. By improving the skill sets of local workforces, the program hopes the trainings offer pathways to better-paying jobs in the tree-care industry.
Environmental & Economic Impact
By increasing tree canopy cover, the program aspires to improve environmental conditions of Alabama communities including reduced heat, improved air quality, and mitigated stormwater runoff. This in turn would create healthier and more vibrant spaces for Alabama residents to enjoy. Also, workforce development in tree care and maintenance will provide important marketable skills to professionals in tree-care industry.
Resources
Meet the Team
Georgios Arseniou
Georgios Arseniou is an assistant professor and Extension specialist of urban forestry at Auburn University. He completed his bachelor’s degree of forestry in Greece, his master’s degree of photogrammetry and geoinformatics in Germany, and his doctoral degree of forest measurements and urban forestry at Michigan State University. Arseniou’s research focuses on understanding the structure and function of urban forests using remote sensing methods. His Extension program focuses on assisting municipalities and local communities in Alabama to grow healthy urban trees through arboricultural methods and efficient urban forest management and inventories.
Beau Brodbeck
Beau Brodbeck is an Alabama Extension assistant director for field operations and an affiliate faculty in the Auburn University College of Forestry, Wildlife, and Environment. He holds a doctoral degree in forestry and is both an Alabama registered forester and an International Society of Arboriculture certified arborist. Over the past 20 years, Brodbeck has worked in various facets of forest and urban forest management. He began his career as a forestry consultant before transitioning to become an urban forestry specialist at Auburn University, where he managed Alabama’s hurricane recovery program in the aftermath of Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina. In recent years, Brodbeck has developed educational outreach programs and publications to serve the urban forestry communities in Alabama. His research has focused on human dimensions of urban forest management, as well as migrant labor within the forest industry. He currently serves in leadership positions for various organizations, including the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council, the TREE Fund, and the Society of American Foresters.
Jessica Baldwin
Jessica Baldwin is the project coordinator for the Green Up Alabama initiative. She completed her bachelor’s degree in natural resource conservation and her master’s degree in entomology at the University of Florida. Prior to becoming the project coordinator for Green Up Alabama, she worked as a biological science teacher at Meridian High School and then at Auburn University as a research associate for the Forest Health Cooperative and the Forest Health Dynamics Laboratory.
More Information
Green Up Alabama invites you to be part of this journey. More information will be coming soon on the program’s implementation and how community leaders, workers, and volunteers can get involved.
Green Up Alabama is made possible through funding from the US Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service.