The newest development at Cedar Rock Farms in Leeds is no ordinary project for Katie McLaughlin and her father, Joe White. “This project is special to me,” McLaughlin said. “We’re tying it into the original phase of Cedar Rock Farms that my father developed 30 years ago. I remember riding my bike as a kid […]

A Mobile business has found a way for their employees to help the environment amid COVID-19 restrictions on normal volunteer activities. Evonik Corporation (EC) recently built and deployed more than 70 bird boxes on its property in Mobile County. EC Logistics Manager Helen Bush says the idea came about during a Partners for Environmental Progress membership meeting last fall. “We […]

Don Bates loves his job. His official title is “Founder and Owner” of Osprey Initiative (OI) but his business card lists him as CLG. “Chief Litter Gitter,” Bates said with a grin. “The day I get to put my hip boots on and go to work is a great day.”

A permanent home for Clotilda and Africatown artifacts is one step closer to reality, thanks to an official groundbreaking ceremony Thursday in Mobile for the new Africatown Heritage House. The museum will tell the long untold story of the Clotilda, the nation’s last known slave ship, and the town created by the African survivors who once suffered aboard that […]

Surviving dangerous weather is the focus of Severe Weather Awareness Week in Alabama. Gov. Kay Ivey, the National Weather Service offices that serve Alabama, the Alabama Emergency Management Agency and other supporting organizations have declared the week of Feb. 16-21 as Severe Weather Awareness Week. John De Block, meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Birmingham, says the goal […]

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey comforted survivors and thanked first responders and volunteers Wednesday during a visit to Fultondale and Center Point, two cities heavily damaged by a deadly tornado Monday night. Numerous state and local government officials joined Ivey on Wednesday morning as she surveyed storm damage. She thanked first responders and volunteers for their tireless […]

Alabama Power is joining forces with Baron Critical Weather Institute (BCWI) to expand the collection and analysis of real-time weather data in Alabama in an effort to improve weather-related decisions by citizens, first responders and government agencies. A BCWI weather sensor and webcam was installed Jan. 13 at Alabama Power’s facility on 4th Street near downtown Tuscaloosa as […]

New artificial fish habitats will soon be deployed in Alabama lakes and rivers as part of a joint effort by Alabama Power, B.A.S.S. and Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation to help fish thrive. Approximately 200 “spider blocks” were assembled Jan. 9 in Calera. High school anglers, coaches and parents from the Gardendale Rockets Bass Fishing Club and HUKONE Bass Club joined volunteers from Alabama […]

Johnna Bush spends most of her days painting portraits, but when the Grove Hill studio artist got a call from a friend about plans for a new mural in downtown Monroeville, she stopped and listened. “I really believed in this project because I believe what they’re telling and preserving is so important,” Bush said. “This is […]

One of south Alabama’s oldest conservation groups has changed its name. Weeks Bay Foundation is now South Alabama Land Trust (SALT). Diana Brewer, Development and Communications coordinator for SALT, said planning the name change began two years ago when the board decided the old name did not accurately reflect the organization’s growing geographic concerns for the land […]

Nestled behind the stone walls surrounding 2300 Springhill Ave., in old Mobile are a collection of buildings and, more importantly, a group of women who love you and me. The Convent and Academy of the Visitation, commonly known as Visitation Monastery, is a historic complex of Roman Catholic buildings and a small cemetery. Established in 1832 […]

A nonprofit organization in Mobile County is teaching kids valuable life skills while helping the environment. Groundwork Mobile County (GMC) recently completed its first Green Team youth employment program where six teens spent a month working in community gardens in Mobile County. GMC Executive Director Barja Wilson said the kids loved it. “They were very proud,” […]

Paddlers from across the United States will again race each other down 650 miles of Alabama’s scenic rivers in 2021 in the Great Alabama 650 (AL650), the world’s longest annual paddle race. The third annual AL650 begins Sept. 18 on Weiss Lake in Centre. Racers will have 10 days to reach Fort Morgan in Mobile […]

Alabama Power‘s Plant Barry Environmental Stewardship Team (BEST) is one of this year’s recipients of the Environmental Stewardship Award presented by Partners for Environmental Progress (PEP) in Mobile. BEST was honored for its work in restoring wood duck habitats in the Upper Delta Wildlife Management Area, a forested floodplain adjacent to the Alabama River. Employees from Plant Barry and Washington […]

A public park in east Alabama is more beautiful today thanks to the work of local master gardeners. The Cherokee County Master Gardeners (CCMG) planted trees, bushes and flowers at Alabama Power‘s Slackland Beach in Leesburg, a day-use public park on Weiss Lake that is part of the company’s recreational sites called The Preserves. CCMG project manager Susan Beavers said […]

A new program is helping oyster farmers hurt financially by the COVID-19 pandemic while simultaneously improving oyster reefs on the Gulf Coast. The Concerned Oystermen Restoring Estuaries (CORE) program buys surplus, oversized oysters from farmers and redeploys them in wild reef habitats in need of restoration. LaDon Swann, director of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium (MASGC), said […]

Paddlers from across the United States will be racing each other down 650 miles of Alabama’s scenic rivers later this month in the Great Alabama 650, the world’s longest annual paddle race. The second annual Great Alabama 650 begins Sept. 26 on Weiss Lake in Centre. Racers will have 10 days to reach Fort Morgan in […]

Alabama’s largest one-day volunteer event will be spread out over an entire week this year thanks to the pandemic. The 33rd annual Alabama Coastal Cleanup will begin Saturday, Sept. 19 and continue through Sunday, Sept. 27. Angela Underwood with the State Lands Division’s Coastal Section of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) said spreading the event […]

A small, minority-owned business in rural southwest Alabama is producing big solutions for some of the state’s largest companies. Muskogee Technology (MT) in Atmore manufactures goods and provides services for businesses in aerospace, industrial and agricultural industries. MT President and CEO Westly Woodruff said industry leaders such as Airbus, Boeing, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, GKN Aerospace, Alabama Power, SIEMENS, Hiller Companies and Sikorsky trust MT to deliver solutions […]

Alabama Power and the Alabama Wildlife Federation (AWF) are working together to provide a new place to fish off the Alabama coast. The two deployed an artificial reef Thursday about 8 miles off the coast of Dauphin Island. The reef is made of three repurposed tanks from Barry Steam Plant near Mobile. The tanks, which were used to […]

Staff and students at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) have easier access to Alabama’s diverse coastal habitats thanks to the arrival of a new research vessel. The Claire B is a 25-foot Carolina Skiff capable of ferrying about 20 people to locations around the island. The vessel was purchased by the DISL Foundation thanks to a $25,000 grant from […]

Albert Chege easily remembers his introduction to the Boys & Girls Club of Central Alabama. “I started when I was 8 years old,” Chege said. “My parents needed somewhere for me and my brothers to go. The Boys and Girls Club was the best option because it was nearby and the buses from the Boys & […]

A new aerospace exhibition and education center is open in Mobile, giving teens and adults interested in aerospace careers a place to be inspired, educated and equipped with the knowledge they need to succeed. Flight Works Alabama is a cooperative effort between the Airbus Foundation, the state of Alabama and a group of educational partners and commercial […]

Work to restore and preserve one of Alabama’s most iconic and important coastal habitats is wrapping up as planners shift their focus to building trails, boat ramps and a pavilion at the site. The Nature Conservancy in Alabama (TNCA) said heavy construction at Lightning Point in Bayou La Batre is almost complete. Judy Haner, Marine Program director, said contractors finished […]