1,000 Trees for Tuscaloosa

When tornadoes devastated North Alabama earlier this year, people from our area came together to help our neighbors any way they could. For local tree farmers, their donation is just beginning.

"It's the best time of the year to plant trees," said Phillip Dodd, a landscaper and owner of Dodd's Tree Farm in Semmes. "In the next two or three years there's going to be a need to replace these trees that were damaged or destroyed by this storm; trees that your grandmother planted or your grandfather, or your great-grandfather planted 100 years ago.

Dodd's Tree Farm in Semmes has teamed up with Water's Nursery in Robertsdale to donate trees in areas most-effected by the April storms.

"Trees are a source of life," said tree farmer Baron Long, who helped with the project. "They give us oxygen we need to breath, and if you can give life to your neighbor, that's a good thing."

What started with a prayer, then a few phone calls and emails, eventually led to a major project. They now have the resources to give one-thousand trees to Tuscaloosa. They estimate the entire project would cost forty to fifty-thousand dollars. But they're not asking for donations. They say people have already stepped up to give them everything they need. Dodd expects to start planting trees for families in Tuscaloosa by January 7.

Tree farmers don't expect it to solve all the problems, but perhaps beautifying the community is the next step in Alabama's recovery.

"I think people will be really blessed by it," said Phillip Dodd.

"A nice smile, a little bit of closure, a little bit of happiness," said Baron Long. "Now that were bringing life back to them."