Alabama Power, in partnership with its parent company, Southern Company, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), yesterday announced grants supporting restoration efforts along two important waterways in Central Alabama: the Cahaba River and Village Creek.
The grants are funded through the Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Program. Five Star provides funding to diverse local partnerships for wetland, forest, streamside and coastal habitat restoration.
The Alabama grants announced yesterday support projects designed to reduce erosion and improve water quality in the Cahaba and Village Creek as they flow through urbanized areas of Birmingham and Jefferson County.
“Five Star grants are making a real difference in helping restore some of the most significant creeks and rivers in our state, ” said Susan Comensky, Alabama Power’s vice president for Environmental Affairs.
Since 2006, Southern Company has contributed $2.78 million to 118 Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration grants, resulting in an on-the-ground conservation impact of more than $13.3 million. In all, the grants have helped restore or improve nearly 1,300 acres and more than 137,000 feet of streamside buffer in the Southeast.