Explore your backyard: Connect with nature across Jefferson County

A majestic green hawthorn (Crataegus viridis) that lives at Red Mountain Park, Birmingham, Alabama, has recently been honored as a state champion tree by the Alabama Forestry Commission as part of the Alabama Champion Tree Program. This prestigious recognition celebrates the largest known living specimen of its species in Alabama, highlighting the crucial role trees play in our environment and history.

Jefferson County Greenways is gearing up for the upcoming prescribed fire burn season, which in Jefferson County runs from November through March. During this time frame, people living or traveling near our greenspaces may briefly see smoke in the air, as our team works to reduce fuel loads and improve our forests and prairies. 

Are you a birdwatcher? A gardener? Do you like lightning bugs or butterflies? Do you want to see more of these species while having to do less yard work during the fall? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, this article is for you.

It’s beautiful outside, and you say to yourself, “It’s a perfect day to go for a hike.” You think nothing of hopping in the car to drive to your favorite green space to get on a trail. Soon, you are immersed in trees, hearing birdsong, feeling the breeze on your skin, smelling the sweet, damp smells of the earth beneath your feet.