TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- The Arbor Day Foundation and the Alabama Forestry Commission are giving away 30,000 trees to help replant Alabama communities that were devastated by tornadoes last year.
Alabama First Lady Dianne Bentley is joining officials in Tuscaloosa on Monday for an event to kick off the distribution effort.
Dozens of tornadoes splintered thousands of acres of trees when they tore through the state last April, leaving neighborhoods and rural land bare. The groups are distributing seedlings to help jumpstart the reforestation effort.
Communities receiving the trees initially include Cordova, Cullman, Fyffe, Glen Allen, Hanceville, Ider, Jasper, Lakeview, Oakman, Ohatchee, Pleasant Grove, Reform, Shiloh, Sipsey, Tuscaloosa and Vance.