By: Lily McCormick
Wild Alabama is a nonprofit organization founded in 1991. Their mission statement describes how their purpose “is to inspire people to enjoy, value, and protect Alabama’s wild places.”
The organization has deep roots in Alabama’s history and is the only nonprofit of its kind to service both of Alabama’s national forests. Over the years, their partnerships with the United States Forest Service as well as other groups have created a legacy for Wild Alabama.
Maggie Johnston, Wild Alabama’s Executive Director, attributes their success to their extensive outreach and educational efforts. “We believe that education is the key to conservation,” she said. “Through our Education and Outreach programs, we inspire protection of the environment.”
This mindset extends to their event planning for each month. In February, the group had 22 outreach events scheduled with 13 taking place in Bankhead National Forest and the other 9 in the Talladega National Forest. This does not include their weekly trash pickups in Bankhead National Forest lovingly named “Trashy Tuesdays.”
The group prides itself on hosting many guided hikes to expose people to Alabama’s natural spaces. “Many people who love hiking and getting out in nature realize the need to “give back” to these magical wild places,” said Johnston. “Wild Alabama provides opportunities for the public to volunteer to help maintain our public lands.”
Recently, Wild Alabama completed a service project with the help of the Bankhead National Forest Foundation to create new trailhead kiosks in the forest. Kiosks are an iconic part of Alabama’s trail system and provide information for the public like closure orders, trail maps, Leave No Trace information and much more in hopes of ensuring a positive experience.
In the fall of 2022, the USFS asked Wild Alabama to help facilitate the rebuilding of the Kiosks. According to their website, “unfortunately they get vandalized or in the case of the Thompson Creek trailhead kiosk, get burned to the ground.”
Wild Alabama took on the project and assembled a team of volunteers to create the new kiosks. The project took 183 total volunteer hours to complete, and many of the volunteers have a special connection to the area.
Spencer Randle was one of the volunteers who was looking for a way to give back Alabama’s lands. He said, “I’m glad I could be a part of this project even if I was just unskilled labor, I wish could have helped more.”
Randle frequents the area with his family and was saddened to see how the fires had affected it. “Sipsey has always been one of my special places. After an overnight trip with my family we hiked out and discovered the sign we read many times was smoldering from the fire. My idealistic 9 year old shed tears.” Randle said that this was his main inspiration for participating in the project and he was “grateful for the opportunity”.
Wild Alabama’s next event is “Helping Hands Volunteer Workday in Sipsey Wilderness” on Friday, February 17 where they will continue their clean-up effort in the Sipsey Wilderness area. For more information on this event and all upcoming ones, visit the Wild Alabama Organization website.
Vallo Vision News 