Green resource guide for Alabama
By Weekly Staff
Alabama is home to dozens of environmental and conservation organizations. If you are part of an environmental group that we failed to include, write to jesse@bhamweekly.com with the subject line “Green Guide.” Over time we plan to expand the guide to include for-profit entities, including retailers and other vendors of green-related products and services.
Alabama Chapter of the Sierra Club
1330 21st Way South, Suite 100
Birmingham, AL 35205-3912
(205) 933-9111
The Alabama Chapter of the Sierra Club includes several groups in the state, including Mobile, Montgomery and North Alabama. The Sierra Club’s members and supporters include more than 1.3 million people who work together to protect the environment.
Alabama Environmental Council
2717 Seventh Ave. South
Birmingham, AL 35203-3402
(205) 322-3126
The AEC seeks to protect Alabama’s environment through advocacy, education and preservation. It seeks to initiate action, promote leadership and provide grassroots support.
AEC Recycling Center
2431 Second Ave. North
Birmingham, AL 35233
(205) 252-7581; recycling hotline (800) 982-4364
1090 South Donahue Drive
Auburn University, AL 36849
(334) 844-5017
The purpose of the Alabama Natural Heritage Program is to provide the best available scientific information on the biological diversity of Alabama to guide conservation action and promote sound stewardship practices within the state and throughout the Southeast. The Alabama Natural Heritage ProgramSM is an ongoing, computer-assisted ecological inventory administered through the Auburn University Environmental Institute.
Alabama Partners for Clean Air
1731 First Ave. North, Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35203
(205) 251-8139
APCA is a coalition of 14 public, private and nonprofit organizations working to improve air quality in Jefferson and Shelby counties through voluntary strategies. APCA’s goals are to achieve and maintain compliance with national air quality standards, to protect and improve public health, to minimize the economic impacts on existing businesses and support economic growth consistent with clean air goals.
Alabama Rivers Alliance
2027 Second Ave. North, Suite A
Birmingham, AL 35203
(205) 322-6395; (800) 862-5260
Established in 1997, this non-profit seeks to protect and restore Alabama’s waterways through water-quality policy advocacy, restoration planning, grassroots organizing and watershed education.
Alabama Urban Forestry Association
P.O. Box 382225
Birmingham, AL 35238-2225
(877) 548-0440
Established in 1989, AUFA promotes proper tree care, tree protection and other tree issues in urban areas. A statewide non-profit organization, AUFA has a diverse membership that includes arboricultural professionals, horticulturists, landscape workers, community tree board members, tree-care volunteers and interested citizens who care about trees where they live and work. AUFA’s services are designed to support members’ efforts to replant, maintain and sustain the urban landscape.
Alabama Water and Pollution Control Association
The AWPCA works to increase the store of practical knowledge concerning water supply and treatment; the nature, collection, treatment, reclamation and disposal of domestic and industrial wastewaters; and the design, construction, operation and management of facilities used in water supply, wastewater collection and the treatment of reclamation.
Alabama Wildflower Society
2612 Lane Park Road
Birmingham, AL 35223
(205) 414-3900
The Alabama Wildflower Society is a statewide organization of native plant enthusiasts. The Blanche Dean Chapter of the Alabama Wildflower Society encompasses the greater Birmingham area, and their meetings are held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
Alabama Wildlife Federation
3050 Lanark Road
Millbrook, Alabama 36054
(800) 822-9453
The Alabama Wildlife Federation (AWF) is the oldest and largest non-profit conservation organization in Alabama. The AWF was established by sportsmen in 1935 to promote the conservation and wise use of our wildlife and natural resources and to ensure a high quality of life for future generations of Alabamians.
Alabama Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
Oak Mountain State Park
100 Terrace Drive
Pelham, AL 35124
(205) 663-7930; wildlife hotline (205) 621-3333
The Alabama Wildlife Center is Alabama’s oldest and largest wildlife rehabilitation center, providing care annually for nearly 2,500 native birds, mammals, and reptiles of over 100 species in order to return them to the wild. The center’s educational mission is to arouse awareness and concern for Alabama’s native wildlife and the problems they face due to the rapid spread of human activity.
Auntie Litter, Inc.
1776 Independence Court, Suite 304
Birmingham, AL 35216
(205) 879-3009
Auntie Litter, Inc. is an award-winning nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting a clean, healthy environment. Using the character of “Auntie Litter” and comprehensive teaching tools and strategies, the organization shows young people, their families, and their teachers how to conserve natural resources, eliminate litter in their communities, and practice the three R’s — reuse, reduce waste, and recycle. The Auntie Litter approach is designed to help make learning about the environment fun and interactive.
The Birmingham Grotto
P.O. Box 55102
Birmingham, AL 35255
The Birmingham Grotto includes a diverse group of people, ranging from archeologists and surveyors to ridge-walkers and recreational cavers, all of whom have joined together in order to protect and preserve the natural underground wilderness. The Birmingham Grotto meets on the first Thursday of each month at the Homewood Library at 7 p.m.
Black Warrior Riverkeeper
712 37th St. South,
Birmingham, AL 35222
(205) 458-0095
Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s mission is to protect and restore the Black Warrior River and its tributaries. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving water quality, habitat, recreation, and public health throughout the Black Warrior River watershed.
Cahaba River Society
2717 Seventh Ave. South, Suite 205
Birmingham, AL 35233
(205) 322-5326
The Cahaba River Society is Alabama’s largest watershed conservation organization and is recognized nationally for river stewardship. The group’s objectives include protecting and restoring the Cahaba River, safeguarding drinking water, educating youth and adults to improve environmental decision making, managing growth and development and promoting a healthy environment for all of the area’s residents.
Camp McDowell Environmental Center
105 DeLong Road
Nauvoo, AL 35578
(205) 387-1806
Camp McDowell is the camp and conference center for the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Alabama. Since 1948, people of all faiths and backgrounds have used these facilties to rest, learn, grow, worship, and play. The camp has over 1100 acres of forests, canyons and waterfalls. The Camp McDowell Environmental Center and Feathers in Focus (Raptor Program) provide outstanding environmental education for thousands of students every year.
Conservation Alabama
P.O. Box 130656
Birmingham, AL 35213-0656
(205) 533-6178
Alabama’s only environmental lobby maintains a full-time presence in Montgomery to help influence environmental policy on behalf of the citizens, economy and environment.
Discovering Alabama
The University of Alabama
Alabama Museum of Natural History
103 Smith Hall
Box 870340
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0340
(205) 348-2039
Discovering Alabama is an original, Emmy-nominated documentary series about the rich natural history and heritage of Alabama. The series began in 1985 as an outgrowth of the life-long Alabama travels of series creator and producer Dr. Doug Phillips. As series host, Phillips combines extensive knowledge of Alabama’s natural features with a personal commitment to conservation and education.
Friends of Locust Fork
P.O. Box 245
Hayden, Alabama 35079
(205) 466-3858
The Friends of the Locust Fork River work together to actively preserve the integrity of the river in its natural, free-flowing state, as well as the life styles of the communities that surround it.
Green Building Council of Alabama
P.O. Box 59554
Birmingham, AL 35259
(205) 257-4548
This is the Alabama chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, the organization behind the increasingly popular Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) sustainable building certification system.
Green Resource Center for Alabama
2564 18th St. South
Homewood, AL 35209
(205) 870-8178
The mission of the Green Resource Center is to enlighten and educate the public, industry professionals and policymakers about design, construction and maintenance practices for environmentally sustainable living. It was established in late 2007 and features a board of directors that includes architects, interior designers, financial planners and members of the U.S. Green Building Council and Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
Jones Valley Urban Farm
701 25th Street North
Birmingham, AL 35203
(205) 439-7213 (office); (205) 322-0542 (farm center)
The mission of Jones Valley Urban Farm is to help Birmingham grow organic produce and create healthy communities through urban farming and education. It seeks is to be a model sustainable urban farm that teaches youth and other Birmingham-area residents about sustainable agriculture and nutrition through outdoor, experiential education.
The Nature Conservancy of Alabama
2100 First Avenue North, Suite 500
Birmingham, AL 35203
(205) 251-1155
www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/alabama
The Nature Conservancy is one of the largest conservation organizations in the world and works to protect ecologically important areas for the benefit of people and nature. The mission of the Nature Conservancy is to preserve the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters that plants, animals and other natural communities need to survive.
Scenic Alabama
1731 First Ave North, Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35203
(205) 322-2120
Scenic Alabama’s statewide network is designed to help protect the state’s public places, including roads, parks and downtown areas, from the visual blight caused by out-of-control signs and billboards. The group also seeks to combat the obliteration of scenic green spaces, to promote scenic tourism and to help create attractive, prosperous business communities.
Waste Reduction and Technology Transfer (WRATT) Foundation
416 Lorna Square
Birmingham, AL 35216
(205) 824-8797
The mission of WRATT is to promote sustainable economic development, a cleaner environment, and a better quality of life for Alabama citizens by providing waste reduction, pollution prevention, and technology transfer assistance and education to communities, businesses, governments and other public or private institutions. The WRATT Foundation is a non-profit corporation that provides confidential, voluntary and non-regulatory technical services in the areas of waste reduction, pollution prevention and energy conservation.
