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FEATURES
North Birmingham EcoScape
2619 30th Ave. North
Set near a senior living facility and a
public library, this urban park serves as a
green gateway to the North Birmingham
Business District. It features drought-
resistant native wildflowers, azalea
alcoves, fruit trees, and an open lawn
that serves as a play and picnic area. Its
proximity to two bus stops makes it an
ideal edible garden harvest site for low-
income residents.
Princeton BMC Healing Garden
and Princeton BMC Sound Garden
10th Street SW near Tuscaloosa Ave.
This unusual garden was designed to be
a therapeutic tool for staff and visitors
at Princeton Baptist Medical Center.
Residents of the elderly care facility
Princeton Towers were interviewed
during the design process; the plants
they remembered—fruits, herbs, and
medicinal plants commonly grown a
generation ago—were included to help
trigger fond memories. BSC Associate
Professor of Art Jim Neel ’71 designed
a water sculpture for the garden. The
adjacent Sound Garden has a fountain,
wind chime sculpture, and other artwork
around umbrella-covered tables.
Riley-Travellick EcoScape
3550 Park Ave. SW
Located in a southwest Birmingham
neighborhood bordering Midfield, this
urban park is an anchor for revitalizing
a small community that has suffered
from population decline and illegal drug
distributions. A pavilion is used for
community festivals and a large bioswale
(natural berm system) reduces flooding.
Samuelson EcoScape
601 West Blvd.
Sited behind the Jefferson County Health
Department’s Eastern Health Center,
this EcoScape features native medicinal
plants. Designed for year-round color
and fragrance, it’s a therapy garden for
patients, and plans call for it to become
an access point to a proposed greenway
to East Lake Park.
Seven Springs EcoScape
2001 Cleburn Ave. SW
This EcoScape came into being after a
population of the endangered Watercress
Darter—a tiny, colorful fish that only
lives in and around Jefferson County,
Ala.—was discovered in Seven Springs
on property owned by Faith Apostolic
Church. The EcoScape protects the fish
and serves as a site for meditation and
lessons. Gravel paths wind through
limestone boulders and native plants,
catching and filtering runoff from the
nearby parking lot before it runs into the
spring.
Sims EcoScape
908 Highland Road, Homewood
(open by appointment only)
This EcoScape serves as a living
monument to the late Catherine Sims
’38, who was known as “the Plant Lady
of Edgewood.” She donated her five-lot
garden and greenhouse to the city of
Homewood to be used as a park upon
her death. Located just blocks away from
a busy commercial district, it provides a
tranquil refuge and a place to learn about
low-impact gardening.
Tarrant EcoScape
1113 Ford Ave., Tarrant
Built on the site of a former dry cleaning
store, this park serves as a focal point
for the city’s revitalization efforts. It is
the site of an annual music festival and
provides a welcome refuge from Tarrant’s
industrial setting. Native plants provide
a hands-on demonstration of drought-
friendly landscaping; and the herb
garden by Tarrant Middle School students
as an outdoor classroom. Designed to
help alleviate chronic flooding in the
area, the EcoScape mitigates runoff from
nearby parking lots.
Turkey Creek EcoScape
3906 Turkey Creek Road, Pinson
This EcoScape is located at the entrance
to Turkey Creek Falls and is part of a
466-acre Forever Wild preserve managed
by the SEC. Once a dumping ground
for unincorporated Jefferson County, it
now showcases green landscape practices
and protects the home of the Vermillion
Darter, a small fish found only in Turkey
Creek. A drainage system percolates into
a native plant garden, earthen berms
direct storm water away from the creek,
and boulders keep visitors from parking
in natural areas.