Alabama Power’s environmental team volunteers to help protect Turkey Creek Nature Preserve
Alabama Power volunteers clean up winter storm debris at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in Jefferson County. (Michael Sznajderman / Alabama News Center)
As Earth Day 2023 approaches, volunteers from Alabama Power’s Environmental Affairs organization recently took time on a beautiful spring day to do their part to support one of the most important nature preserves in the Birmingham area.
More than two dozen Environmental Affairs teammates gathered at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in Pinson to take on spring cleanup projects such as picking up trash, removing fallen trees and limbs from along the preserve’s main road, and spreading mulch to protect native plants and reduce erosion. Volunteers also helped remove privet, an invasive plant that can crowd out important native species.
Turkey Creek in Jefferson County is home to four rare fish species, including the vermilion darter, found nowhere else on the planet, and the rush darter, known to exist in only three Alabama counties. The preserve is also a haven for native bats, birds, turtles and plants.
The preserve’s 7.5 miles of walking trails, natural waterfall and popular swimming hole draw more than 130,000 visitors annually. Its growing popularity has created a challenge: balancing its mission as a nature preserve and center for environmental education while accommodating the many people coming to enjoy its beauty and recreational assets.
Charles Yeager with Turkey Creek Nature Preserve briefs Alabama Power volunteers before they get to work. (Michael Sznajderman / Alabama News Center)
Charles Yeager, manager of Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, said the number of volunteer groups helping at the site has slipped since the pandemic began, so the support from the Alabama Power team was welcomed.
“These are the kind of projects that we just don’t have the resources to do on our own,” said Yeager, the preserve’s only full-time employee. “What the Alabama Power Environmental Affairs team did today in a few hours would take our small team days to complete.”
Among the volunteers lending a hand were Susan Comensky, Alabama Power’s vice president of Environmental Affairs, and Nicole Faulk, the company’s senior vice president of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs.
Alabama Power volunteers spread mulch at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve. (Michael Sznajderman / Alabama News Center)
“Every day, our Environmental Affairs team is focused on just that: the environment – ensuring Alabama Power is complying with environmental regulations and doing our part to protect the state’s natural resources,” Comensky said. “But it’s not every day we have the chance to come together, enjoy fellowship and contribute as a team to the protection of one of the state’s important natural attractions.”
“For many on our team, working in Environmental Affairs is much more than just a career path that they’ve taken,” said Faulk. “Protecting the environment is their passion.”
Turkey Creek Nature Preserve’s waterfall and miles of trails draw more than 130,000 visitors annually. (Michael Sznajderman / Alabama News Center)
She noted the company is actively involved, with public and private partners, in projects to protect the state’s biodiversity and improve habitat for Alabama’s endangered species – like those found at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve.
To learn more about Alabama Power environmental stewardship efforts, click here.
