Since Papa Noël has already paid the Gulf states a visit, how about helping out Mother Nature this new year?

How?

Start by planning a road trip to support two concurrent recycling efforts at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama. 

Old Christmas Tree, Old Christmas Tree

Like most people, you probably start taking down your Christmas decorations sometime between New Year’s Day and 12th Night (January 6). However, if you used a live Christmas tree this year, don’t just chuck it out next to the street. Instead, take that tannenbaum on a road trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama.

For nearly 40 years, the folks at Gulf State Park have been turning old Christmas trees into new sand dunes. Volunteers take donated live trees and place them in groups of three forming a U-shape along the dune’s edges. Over time, the trees catch the sand that’s being blown by the wind and this sand builds up to create a new dune.

Later, native plants are added to these new dune, strengthening them and helping them to expand even more. This, in turn, will strengthen the entire Alabama coastline and act as a natural barrier against storm surge.  Efforts such as these are crucial, as proven when Hurricane Sally wreaked havoc on Alabama’s dune system in September, 2020. Nevertheless, Gulf State Park’s Christmas tree recycling program has helped to replenish and strengthen dunes against future storm surges.

If you’d like to donate your live tree, make sure it’s free of all Christmas lights decorations, and the like. (Flocked trees and artificial trees cannot be used.) Take it to the Gulf State Park Beach Pavilion. Place it next to the dumpster on the east side of the parking lot. (Please do not block the front of the dumpster.) The lot is open from dawn until dusk. For more info, click here for the event listing.

If you want to help place the trees in the dunes, volunteers are needed usually sometime in February. For more on how you can help, call the Nature Center at Gulf State Park at 251-948-7275.

Free Annual E-Cycling & Shred Day at gulf STATE PARK

The Coastal Alabama Business Chamber recently announced the return of the annual E-Cycling & Shred Day, scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023 at the Gulf State Park Beach Pavilion on East Beach Boulevard in Gulf Shores.

Shred Day is a free event and attendees don’t have to worry about doing any heavy lifting.
Volunteers will be on hand to quickly remove items from attendees’ vehicles. Amongst the
volunteers will be the Chamber’s Junior Leadership students, who will be collecting tips for their program (tipping is optional, but appreciated).

“We’ve done this event for over a decade now and have really become efficient at it,” said Steve Jones, Chamber VP of Events and Community Relations, “We run rain or shine and folks don’t even have to exit their vehicles, it’s just a great way to help keep the community clean and clutter free.”

Attendees may bring any of their personal paper documents (such as bank statements, canceled checks, credit card statements, utility bills, etc.) to be shredded. Each vehicle is limited to bringing 50 pounds of shred items. Attendees are asked to please not tape or tie bags or boxes. Attendees may also bring any electronic items (such as televisions, computers, vacuums, printers, power tools, etc) to be “E-cycled,” with the exception of any types of batteries.

All collected items will be safely and securely disposed of by participating companies Gilmore Services and Coastal E-Cycle. The 2022 event saw 8,000 lbs of shred items and 6,500 lbs of electronics collected.

For more information, click here for the event listing.  🌊

Get Out and About

While you’re in the area, check out Go! Gulf States for more happenings around America’s third coast. They’ll let you know all of the great things you can see and do while traveling through the Gulf States.