Breathing Room 4 Alabama started with a simple memory: hugging a tree goodbye just outside my preschool. I didn’t know it at the time, but that tree was probably my first connection to nature.

Years later, I’ve watched more and more trees come down across Alabama for development, logging, and land decisions most people may never get a say in. That memory started to feel more like nostalgia. Trees aren’t just scenery. They filter the air we breathe, regulate local climate, and hold together the ecosystems we depend on even when we don’t realize it.

This student-led project exists to raise awareness to the changing environment and to start a conversation most people aren’t having yet: What’s actually replacing our trees, what does that mean for the air we breathe and our community, and what are we willing to do about it?