Red Rock Tuesdays with Fox 6’s Jeh Jeh Pruitt: You Are Invited to Join Us May 7 at City of Bessemer’s Roosevelt Park

Want to be on the news and show your sup­port for the Red Rock Ridge and Val­ley Trail Sys­tem?
 
Join us and Fox 6 at Roo­sevelt Park on May 7. We have been for­tu­nate to host this seg­ment con­sis­tently for more than a year on Good Day Alabama. We have had great crowds out in Pin­son, Tar­rant, Home­wood, Hoover, Birm­ing­ham, Gar­den­dale, Trussville, Iron­dale and Clay. This week we will show you one of Birmingham’s best parks.
 
When: May 7
6:30 a.m. — 8:30 a.m. 
 
Where: Roo­sevelt Park
 
Directions/Parking:                                                                                                                     From Birm­ing­ham
Take I-59/20 SB (or north­bound) to the 18th Street exit.
Get off on 18th Street, head into Besse­mer, and fol­low the road to 9th Avenue, or US 11/Bessemer Super­high­way.
Turn right on 9th Avenue (near Bob Sykes) and fol­low it until you come to 14th Street/Highway 150.
Turn left on 14th Street and High­way 150 until it brings you to the park. (about a mile)
 
From Hoover (there are at least two options)
You can fol­low High­way 150 right out of Hoover to Roo­sevelt Park.
 
From Inter­state 459
Head south on 459 until you come to Mor­gan Road exit/Highway 52.
Turn right on Mor­gan Road and fol­low it until you come to High­way 150/14th Street.
Turn left on High­way 150/14th Street and it will bring you right to the park. (about a mile)
 
Please direct RSVP/questions to greg.robinson@freshwaterlandtrust.org or 205–417-2777.
 
We hope to see you there
  
For more info:
www.freshwaterlandtrust.org/red-rock-ridge-and-valley/

www.facebook.com/pages/Freshwater-Land-Trust/111783932165612

 

Join Us For Red Rock Tuesday at Vulcan Park on March 5!

The Fresh­wa­ter Land Trust and Fox 6 WBRC will be at Vul­can Park on Tues., March 5 to show­case this great amenity to our com­mu­nity and to dis­cuss ideas to bet­ter con­nect the trail to the community!

vulcan1This appear­ance is the twen­ti­eth, once-a-month “Red Rock Tues­day” seg­ment on Good Day Alabama. We have had great crowds out in Brook­side, Ruffner Moun­tain, Pin­son, Tar­rant, Home­wood, Hoover, Birm­ing­ham, Gar­den­dale, Trussville, Ves­tavia and Clay, Red Moun­tain Park, Mid­field, Nor­wood, Green­wood, Crest­wood, and Cen­ter Point.  This week we will show you one of Birmingham’s great­est treasures!
 

We hope to see you at Vul­can Park on Tues., March 5!

When: Tues., March 5
6:20 a.m. — 8:20 a.m. (Main pub­lic appear­ances at 7:20 and 7:50 a.m.)

 

Where: Vul­can Park & Trail
1701 Val­ley View Dr, Birm­ing­ham, AL 35209

 

Please direct ques­tions to valerie.wilson@freshwaterlandtrust.org or call 205.417.2777.

 

Greenwood Park Now Open as Part of the Village Creek Greenway

A new park is now open for Birm­ing­ham res­i­dents, com­plete with walk­ing trails, a multi use ath­letic field and a state-of-the-art play­ground.  McWane Cast Iron Pipe Com­pany opened the entrance to the new Green­wood Park on Novem­ber 17, 2012.  The two-acre park, which is part of the Vil­lage Creek Green­way, is located just off Inter­state 20/59 between Tal­lapoosa and Coosa streets in Birm­ing­ham. It is directly across the inter­state from W.C. Pat­ton Park.

I never thought I’d live to see this day, “said East Birm­ing­ham Neigh­bor­hood Pres­i­dent Ster­ling Fields. “We just thank McWane.”

In addi­tion to the ameni­ties Green­wood pro­vides to the com­mu­nity, the park has a nat­ural stormwater-collection and treat­ment sys­tem lined with native shrubs and grasses. These fea­tures will fil­ter stormwa­ter from nearby sur­faces that pass through the park on the way to Vil­lage Creek.  The park will not only pro­vide recre­ational oppor­tu­ni­ties for nearby res­i­dents but will also improve the water qual­ity of Vil­lage Creek.

At a ribbon-cutting cer­e­mony at Green­wood, Birm­ing­ham Mayor William Bell stressed the impor­tance of hav­ing great parks in the city – a point echoed by Birm­ing­ham city coun­cilors Max­ine Parker and Valerie Abbott. Con­gress­man Spencer Bachus was also on hand for the grand opening.

The new park fits into the Vil­lage Creek Green­way, which is part of the regional Red Rock Ridge and Val­ley Trail Sys­tem. McWane is on the steer­ing com­mit­tee,  Cham­pi­ons for Vil­lage Creek Green­way, an ambi­tious group of busi­ness lead­ers, neigh­bor­hood asso­ci­a­tion pres­i­dents and other non-profits work­ing to develop trails along the creek.

The group’s mis­sion is to engage and edu­cate the com­mu­nity in the devel­op­ment of a series of parks and green­ways along Vil­lage Creek with the goal of improv­ing water qual­ity and the qual­ity of life for the com­mu­nity.

Green­wood Park lines up well with that mission.

This project is a demon­stra­tion of our con­tin­u­ing com­mit­ment to improv­ing the envi­ron­ment and the health and safety of our team mem­bers and the well­be­ing of our com­mu­ni­ties,” said McWane Pres­i­dent G. Ruffner Page.

This park project is part of the set­tle­ment of an enforce­ment action, United States v. McWane, Inc., taken on behalf of the U.S. Envi­ron­men­tal Pro­tec­tion Agency to enforce fed­eral envi­ron­men­tal laws.  McWane sug­gested that a por­tion of the penal­ties be rein­vested into the com­mu­nity through the con­struc­tion of Green­wood Park.  In a land­mark agree­ment, the EPA and Depart­ment of Jus­tice agreed to McWane’s request, and now, that dream has come to fruition.  This project is a ter­rific exam­ple of a coop­er­a­tive effort to turn past mis­takes into present and future benefits.             

 

Red Rock Tuesday at Crestwood Park Dec.4

The Fresh­wa­ter Land Trust and Fox 6 WBRC will be at Crest­wood Park Tues., Dec. 4th , to see the newly ren­o­vated park and walk­ing trail!

This appear­ance is the eigh­teenth, once-a-month “Red Rock Tues­day” seg­ment on Good Day Alabama. We have had great crowds out in Cen­ter Point, Brook­side, Ruffner Moun­tain, Pin­son, Tar­rant, Home­wood, Hoover, Birm­ing­ham, Gar­den­dale, Trussville, Ves­tavia and Clay, Red Moun­tain Park, Mid­field, and Nor­wood. Now it is Crestwood’s turn show every­one their newly ren­o­vated park! We hope to see you in Crest­wood on Tues., Dec. 4!

When: Tues­., Dec. 4
6:40 a.m. — 8:20 a.m. (Main pub­lic appear­ances at 7:20 and 7:50 a.m.)

Where: Crest­wood Park, Crest­wood Boule­vard Birm­ing­ham, Alabama.

Direc­tions: From down­town, take 1st Avenue North toward 23rds Street North, turn right onto 41 Street North, turn left on 3rd Avenue South con­tinue onto 4th Avenue South, con­tinue onto Crest­wood Blvd. Turn left onto 54th Street South.

Please direct ques­tions to valerie.wilson@freshwaterlandtrust.org or call 205.417.2777.

Red Rock Tuesday in Center Point Nov. 6

The Fresh­wa­ter Land Trust and Fox 6 WBRC will be in Cen­ter Point on Tues., Nov. 6, to see Cen­ter Point’s newest trail! This appear­ance is the sev­en­teenth, once-a-month “Red Rock Tues­day” seg­ment on Good Day Alabama. We have had great crowds out in Brook­side, Ruffner Moun­tain, Pin­son, Tar­rant, Home­wood, Hoover, Birm­ing­ham, Gar­den­dale, Trussville, Ves­tavia and Clay, Red Moun­tain Park, Mid­field, and Nor­wood. Now it is Cen­ter Point’s turn show every­one their newest trail as part of the Five Mile Creek Greenway.

We hope to see you in Cen­ter Point on Tues., Nov. 6!

When: Tues­., Nov. 6
6:40 a.m. — 8:20 a.m. (Main pub­lic appear­ances at 7:20 and 7:50 a.m.)

Where: Reed Har­vey Com­mu­nity Green­way, Bar­ring­ton Lane NE off Polly Reed Road, Cen­ter Point, AL (1635 Bar­ring­ton Cir­cle NE, Cen­ter Point, AL 35215)

Direc­tions: From down­town, take Inter­state 59 North, take Exit 134 (AL 75, Roe­buckb Park­way), turn left on Roe­buck Park­way. Drive 3.5 miles to Polly Reed Road, turn right on Polly Reed. Pass Reed Har­vey Park, pass Kim Road, drive straight at the curve onto Bar­ring­ton Lane. Park  in the circle.

Please direct ques­tions to mary.roberson@freshwaterlandtrust.org or 205.417.2777.

 

Tapawingo Springs Volunteer Day on Oct. 27

The Fresh­wa­ter Land Trust invites you to par­tic­i­pate in a vol­un­teer work­day on Sat­ur­day, Oct. 27, at our Tapawingo Springs Wet­lands Pre­serve! This pre­serve is one of the most impor­tant places the Fresh­wa­ter Land Trust has pro­tected due to its crit­i­cal habi­tat for the endan­gered ver­mil­lion and water­cress darters. Dur­ing this work­day, we will be remov­ing privet and replant­ing native under­story shrubs and trees to increase the poten­tial habi­tat on site and to ben­e­fit the wet­land health.  Vol­un­teers will also get a spe­cial sneak peek at one of our newest prop­er­ties! This work­day is part of a 5 Star Restora­tion Grant pro­vided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

When: Sat­ur­day Octo­ber 27 at 9:00 am until noon
Where: Tapawingo Springs Pre­serve, Pin­son, AL

Wear com­fort­able cloth­ing and shoes that can get wet. Bring light tools (shov­els, lop­pers) and gloves if you have them. Water and snacks provided.

Direc­tions: From down­town Birm­ing­ham, take 20E/59N to Exit 134 (AL 75 N/ Roe­buck Park­way). Take a left off the exit and travel on AL 75 N for 7.2 miles. Take a right onto Bud Holmes Road/Pinson Main Street and travel for 0.7 miles. Turn left on Tapawingo Road, travel for 0.1 miles. We will meet at a red gate on the right side of the road.

For more infor­ma­tion con­tact Rebekah Parker 205.417.2775 or rebekah.pine@freshwaterlandtrust.org

 

Red Rock Tuesday at Greenwood Park on October 2

The Fresh­wa­ter Land Trust and Fox 6 WBRC will be at Green­wood Park on Tues­day, Octo­ber 2, to see one of Birmingham’s newest parks!

This appear­ance is the six­teenth, once-a-month “Red Rock Tues­day” seg­ment on Good Day Alabama. We have had great crowds out in Brook­side, Ruffner Moun­tain, Pin­son, Tar­rant, Home­wood, Hoover, Birm­ing­ham, Gar­den­dale, Trussville, Ves­tavia and Clay, Red Moun­tain Park, Mid­field, and Nor­wood. Now it is Green­wood Park’s turn show every­one their beau­ti­ful park and trails. We hope to see you at Green­wood Park on Octo­ber 2!

When: Tues­day, Octo­ber 2
6:40 a.m. — 8:20 a.m. (Main pub­lic appear­ances at 7:20 and 7:50 a.m.)

Where:
Green­wood Park, Tal­lapoosa St. (The entrance to Green­wood Park is right by the Kan­ga­roo gas station)

Please direct ques­tions to mary.roberson@freshwaterlandtrust.org or 205.417.2777.

2012 DARTER DASH 5K & 1 MILE FUN RUN

The Fresh­wa­ter Land Trust Junior Board invites you to be a part of the 2nd Annual Darter Dash, a unique 5k race at the beau­ti­ful and his­toric­Turkey Creek Nature Pre­serve in Pin­son, Alabama. The 5k course will begin and end at Turkey Creek Falls. The race course is a paved road­way that fol­lows the beau­ti­ful creek, offer­ing incred­i­ble views and sub­tle ele­va­tion changes that allow for a chal­leng­ing, yet fun course.

This pre­serve con­tains some of the most bio­log­i­cally diverse habi­tats in this region of Alabama. The waters of Turkey Creek are home to three endan­gered species of fish: the Ver­mil­ion Darter (Etheostoma cher­mocki), the Water­cress Darter (Etheostoma nuchale), and the Rush Darter (Etheostoma phy­tophilum). The Ver­mil­ion Darter occurs only in Turkey Creek and nowhere else in the world.

WHAT: 5K & 1 Mile Fun Run Race ben­e­fit­ing the Fresh­wa­ter Land Trust
WHERE: Turkey Creek Nature Pre­serve in Pin­son, Alabama
WHEN: Sat­ur­day, Octo­ber 13, 2012
START TIME: 8:30 a.m.

RACE BIB/PACKET PICK-UP:
WHENFri­day, Oct. 12 between noon and 7 p.m.
WHERE: Fleet Feet Sports