Wild Alabama art exhibit brings hemlock conservation into focus

DOUBLE SPRINGS -  A Wild Alabama art exhibit called “Conservation through Art: Saving Alabama's Hemlocks” opened at the Little Rock Building in Double Springs last week, and a number of related workshops and events are coming up.

The exhibit features the work of 16 artists and includes paintings, photographs, handmade paper (and a book made from it) and even poetry, all of which explores the beauty and importance of the Eastern hemlock and the ecosystem this tree makes possible.

"Art unites communities, and in the world of conservation, as people and communities deepen in awareness and appreciation of our wild places, they come to love them," Wild Alabama said in a press release. "Through this love, action to protect them follows. In addition, the 'Conservation through Art' initiative builds a broad community that supports and encourages the value of the work created by Alabama artists and poets."

The exhibit will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays, Nov. 14 and Nov. 21, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 26, and during a closing reception from 12-2:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 29.

This area is one of the few places where Eastern hemlocks have not yet fallen prey to the hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive aphid-like insect that threatens to wipe out the species.

To ensure early detection of any wooly adelgid infestation here, Wild Alabama organized a community science monitoring program of the area's hemlocks in 2021 at the request of Bankhead District Ranger Andy Scott, and it is now sponsoring this art exhibit to bring attention to the tree, its importance and the risk it faces from this insect.

"Hemlock is a keystone species, meaning that it has great influence on its environment," said Wild Alabama Outreach and Education Coordinator Janice Barrett. "Wherever hemlocks grow, they determine the temperature of the water (by providing shade) and the quality of the soil. They basically influence what can live there. Birds in particular take shelter (in them). Since they're an evergreen and really lush in their foliage, they just provide a lot of protection for birds in the winter time.

"If we were to lose all of our hemlocks, or even most of them, it would give non-native invasive plant species a great place to grow because (we) would lose all that canopy and (the forest) would open up," she explained. "We (also) have so many uncommon and threatened aquatic species here, a lot of species of mussels and fish, that would be even more threatened if (the water temperature) changed.

"(Hemlocks are) super important, and they're also just what gives the Bankhead its character," Barrett concluded. "As an evergreen tree, they add a particular quality of light and this kind of soft beauty."

"We want people to understand this is one of the last places on earth (where hemlocks are unaffected by the wooly adelgid), and we want to keep (the tree) safe," said Wild Alabama Executive Director Heather Tucker. "The reason we're protected so far is because of this little space right here," she continued, indicating a gap on a map of the range of the Eastern hemlock that separates our area from the rest of the hemlock population.

"If you go (into an infested area) and you hike, or you have it on your car, and you bring it back to here, then (the adgelid will spread to local trees)," she said. "We're trying to educate people on that so that if you see (an infestation), on your personal property or while you're out in the forest, you can let someone know. You need to know what you're looking for. There are inoculations for it, but that needs to be done, or this population will be killed."

Wild Alabama can help property owners find a place to purchase the inoculations, which come in the form of either a soil or a stem injection, and can teach them how to use the treatments.

Tucker noted Wild Alabama also wants to teach the public to recognize Eastern hemlocks through this exhibit so they will know not to damage these trees while in the Bankhead "because they are essential to the ecosystem of the Bankhead National Forest."

Barrett explained that Scott originally came to Wild Alabama after having met with a young man, Rio de Graffenried, who had recently done a 4-H project that involved rescuing Eastern hemlock saplings infested by wooly adelgids in Georgia, treating them and then adopting them out. He also created a project to map the Eastern hemlocks on the iNaturalist app. Users of the app can view or contribute to his project, which is called Save the Alabama Hemlocks.

De Graffenried then met with Scott to ask if the U.S. Forest Service could monitor the Bankhead for the wooly adelgid, according to Barrett, who added that the USFS only has the staff to be able to monitor a few of the stands of hemlocks in the forest, however. That's how Wild Alabama's community science project was born.

"Rio's mother, Starr (Weems, a high school science teacher), and I went into the forest, and we identified all of the places in the Bankhead on the eastern side where the hemlocks exist," Barrett said. "It was fun because we got to be out there roaming around in the woods, way off trail, mapping all of this. It was great.

"(Weems is) an artist, so together, we came up with this idea to do the art show," Barrett continued.

Over the last year, the exhibit has been on display at the Gadsden Museum of Art, Lowe Mill Arts and Entertainment in Huntsville and the Walker County Arts Alliance gallery in Jasper.

Tucker explained how the show came to be exhibited in the Little Rock Building.

"(The Double Springs Study Club is) always looking to bring new opportunities to the area. In the last year or two, they have worked really hard to open this space (in the Little Rock Building) up to the quilt show and different displays of different things," Tucker noted. "We were looking for a space and thought this might be a great one, so we did a presentation for the study club about the art show and the hemlocks.

"They were very excited about having this here and offered this space," she continued, noting the club "has went above and beyond helping" with the show and "even installed this picture rail for us that they can (later) use as well for other shows and events.  That was a very kind gesture. It makes it a whole lot easier."

Under former Executive Director Maggie Johnston, Wild Alabama applied for and received a $9,600 grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) to fund this final exhibit in Double Springs, which was chosen because of its proximity to the hemlock forest, and a new Conservation through Art project in 2025. The next exhibit and related events will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Eastern Wilderness Areas Act of 1975, which created the Sipsey Wilderness as well as 15 other wilderness areas on federal land in 13 eastern states.

“Wild Alabama’s 'Conservation through Art' project intertwines environmental awareness with creative expression. We’re excited to see how this traveling exhibit will inspire conservation efforts across northern Alabama through the power of art,” ASCA said in a statement.

Wild Alabama has scheduled a variety of educational events and workshops during the exhibit's run, many of them led by artists whose work is in the exhibit.

Those still to come include poetry readings by Anne Markham Bailey, Wild Alabama's creative content coordinator, at the Little Rock Building at 12 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14, and at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16. Poet Sam Calhoun will also participate in the evening reading.

The Nov. 16 reading caps off a full day of events at the Little Rock Building, starting with a pastel painting workshop led by Wild Alabama board member, NASA engineer and artist Timothy Joe from 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. That will be followed by a poetry workshop led by Bailey and Calhoun from 2-5 p.m.

There will be a two-hour Hemlock Hike on Sunday, Nov. 17, at 10:30 a.m at Brushy Lake.

Another Hemlock Hike was conducted on Nov. 9.

"They're both short (hikes to see hemlocks) because it's a teaching thing," said Barrett. "It's not about the distance; it's about content. "

On Sunday, Nov. 17, Weems and Barrett will lead a nature journaling workshop at the Little Rock Building from 2-4:30 p.m.

While the hike is free, each workshop costs $20. Those interested in participating in any event should register online at www.wildal.org/, where people may also join the hemlock monitoring program.