Alabama News
5th Annual Darter Scramble
The 5th annual Darter Scramble golf tournament is coming up in September!
The 2026 Darter Scramble is a golf tournament benefiting our Birmingham Urban Watershed STEM Initiative (BUWSI) program! Teams of four competed in the 18-hole golf scramble at Highlands Golf Course (3300 Highland Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35205). A continental breakfast plus awards luncheon are included in your registration.
Price: $600 Foursome / $150 Individual
Schedule: 7-7:45 a.m. Check-in and registration / 8 a.m. Shotgun start
Village Creek Received $2.6M to Support Floodplain Restoration Efforts
Last week, Senator Katie Britt with the unanimous support of Mayor Randall Woodfin and the Birmingham City Council secured the monies to combat the persistent problem of 50 years of flooding that has impacted 30,000 homes since 1970.
AEC Receives Donation Funds for ARC/BUWSI from Generous Donor!
AEC recently attended an annual grant award luncheon hosted by a generous private donor organization. Thanks to this donor we have received $168,000 to support ARC (Alabama Resilience Center) and BUWSI (Birmingham Urban Watershed STEM Initiative) development and programming.
What's Happening at Birmingham Breadworks
Growing Sustainable Practices, Together
Many of you don't realize that we are partners of EAT Alabama (Earth Aware Team). That means we strive to maintain sustainable practices in as many areas of the bakery as feasible and fostering that mindset with our team and community. Here is how we are working behind the scenes to reduce our footprint and give back:
Zero Waste Baking: Anything that is left in the Day-Old baskets at the end of the day, along with our pizza slices, is packaged up and donated to Grace Klein Community, where they are distributed to the food insecure in our community.
Composting & Cardboard Recycling: They actively set aside organic kitchen waste (banana peels, egg shells, avocado pits, etc) and a farmer picks everything up to use as compost on his farm. We also recycle all of our cardboard and paper waste to divert it away from landfills.
Eco-Friendly To-Go Ware: Everything is served in compostable containers with to-go utensils, ensuring your convenience doesn't come at the cost of the environment!
Glass Recycling for All: We have partnered with Glass Half Full to offer glass recycling right here at the bakery! Next time you swing by, feel free to bring by your clean glass bottles and jars to drop off in our designated bins. Glass recycling is picked up every other Thursday, so if our bins are full please bring them back to drop off on your next visit!
Birmingham Climate & Sustainability Strategy
Thomas Yuill, director of Birmingham’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability, announced the city's new sustainability plan.
The plan's big ideas:
Live, Work, Thrive, Grow Move, & Reclaim
13th Annual Darter Fest
The 13th annual Darter Fest was held on Sunday, May 31, noon-5:00 p.m. at Cahaba Brewing Company.
The festival supports our watershed education programs for Birmingham City Schools, with a particular emphasis on the Watercress Darter, a tiny fish only found here in Birmingham, Alabama!
Thank you to all our sponsors, partners, vendors, food truck, and volunteers who helped this year!!
Sponsors:
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Darter Event & Stage Sponsor - Nucor Steel
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Darter VIP - Lhoist, TMS International, LaBella, & Alabama Power
Partners:
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Cahaba Brewery
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Amavida Coffee Roasters
Vendors:
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ADEM, Seth Patterson, Rain Reworks, Good Karma Eco Shop, Friends of Turkey Creek, Black Warrior Riverkeepers & Birmingham Stormwater Authority
Little River State Forest in Atmore slated to reopen Summer 2026
Tucked away between Monroe and Escambia County in south Alabama is a little known gem, Little River State Forest (LRSF). Consisting of approximately 2,100 acres of longleaf pine forest, this area provides a unique setting for many outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, fishing, and horseback riding.
The state park was closed in 2020 after a destructive weather event. Thanks to improvements paid for by the passage of a 2022 constitutional amendment, Little River is able to open its gates again, but the improvements haven’t quite finished yet.
AWF Delta & Bay Conservation Center at Five Rivers
Big news for Spanish Fort, AL + the Mobile Bay area! After months of anticipation, Alabama Wildlife Federation shows off its hard work at the AWF Delta & Bay Conservation Center at Five Rivers.
Native Plant List in Alabama
Are you interested in growing your own native garden, including pollinator plants? We've got you covered!
This table includes information on each plant we are using for our garden. The success of the plants will depend on soil conditions. As we take this journey, we may have to adjust as we go for the benefit and long-term success of the garden.
Blazing Star
Wild White Indigo
Love Alabama’s fresh fruit + flowers? Thank these pollinators
If you’ve ever enjoyed a slice of juicy watermelon or a handful of fresh blueberries during an Alabama summer, you have bees to thank—and at Auburn University College of Agriculture, there’s an entire center dedicated to protecting them.
Tucked within Auburn’s Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, the Auburn University Bee Center is buzzing with research, outreach and hands-on student experiences that go far beyond the hive.
Extremely rare Red-footed Booby spotted near Lake Martin thrills Alabama birders
Earlier this month, The Bama Buzz reported on the sighting of the Red-footed Booby, a tropical seabird rarely seen in the continental United States, let alone Alabama.
Jimmy Lanier, the 87-year-old founder of the Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail Association discovered the bird perched high up on the historic firetower near the trailhead of Overlook Drive in Dadeville.
