AMERICUS — The March 1 tornado that happened nearly one year ago took out many homes and businesses in its path. It also took trees, plants that provide life-giving oxygen for humans.

Thanks to the efforts of the Americus Re-Greening Committee, the City has secured a grant from the Georgia Urban Forest Council to help replace some of those trees. The Tree Legacy Grant is for $20,000, and is an urban forestation grant, according Americus CAO Charlotte Cotton.

The funds are made possible through The Home Depot Foundation.

“We’re already planting trees,” Cotton said. “We are almost through with Oak Grove (Cemetery), and then we are going to start on Rees Park.”

“The grant from the Georgia Urban Forest Council will assist the city in replacing the trees uprooted and damaged in the tornado,” said Americus Mayor Barry Blount, in a news release on the grant. “The members of the Americus Re-Greening Committee have worked diligently to acquire this grant to assist the citizens of Americus.”

Recently, the University of Georgia’s School of Environmental Design provided conceptual plans to the Re-Greening Committee for Rees Park and Joyce Myers Park. The Re-Greening Committee called on South Georgia Technical College’s (SGTC) Environmental Horticulture program, which is currently holding a class for inmates at the Sumter County Correctional Institute (SCCI) in landscape installation, to aid with the project, according to a news release from SGTC.

That’s the reason for the inmate crews seen at Oak Grove Cemetery. They have planted beds in the tornado-ravaged historic cemetery, according to a news release from SGTC.

“Hands-on experience is one of the best ways our students learn,” said instructor Mark Collier. “They are preparing for employment in the commercial landscape industry.

“A good deed like this is a nice bonus,” he added.

“The Georgia Urban Forest Council is pleased to provide grant assistance to the City of Americus, and we are proud to be partnering with The Home Depot Foundation in providing these funds,” said Mary Lynne Beckley, executive director of the Georgia Urban Forest Council.

The Georgia Urban Forest Council was founded in 1988, by a group of individuals who recognized the need for an organization to address urban forestry issues in Georgia. Today, the organization offers educational programs and resources supported by a growing and diverse membership.

To learn more, go to the organization’s Website, www.gufc.org.