The Black Warrior Riverkeeper annual membership meeting will be held Wednesday, Nov. 7, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. at the Birmingham Zoo Auditorium.

Dr. Mike Howell, renowned Samford University Biologist who discovered the endangered Watercress Darter, will present the Black Warrior watershed’s amazing history and biodiversity as the keynote speaker. There is no admission fee.

Also, the Black Warrior Riverkeeper benefit concert will be Thursday, Nov. 8, from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Bottletree Cafe on Third Avenue South.

Jasper Coal, HoneyBaked and The Harmless Free Radicals will perform. Tickets are $10 at BottleTree.Com or at the door on the night of the event. All ticket sales go to Riverkeeper’s non-profit efforts to protect your waterways and drinking water.

The Black Warrior Riverkeeper and the Friends of the Locust Fork River, two citizen-based non-profit organizations, filed suit against Metro Recycling in United States District Court this week. The Black Warrior Riverkeeper also filed a lawsuit against Alabama Biodiesel for the company’s unpermitted oil and grease discharges into the river in Tuscaloosa County, next to Moundville Archeological Park.

The first lawsuit alleges that Metro Recycling’s significant and ongoing pollution violations have diminished water quality, recreation and wildlife habitat in the Locust Fork River.
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Higher Ground Roasters, a top-rated 100 percent organic coffee company based in Leeds, Alabama, has launched a new blend called Black Warrior Riverkeeper Roast.

The Riverkeeper environmental organization receives 10 percent off the sales of this medium-roast blend, which is certified organic, fair-trade and shade grown to preserve habitat. Higher Ground also supports the group through the “1 percent for the Planet” program.

You can purchase the coffee online direct from Higher Ground at: Black Warrior Riverkeeper Blend.

You can also purchase 12 oz or 2 lb bags at Alabama stores such as: CAPTURE STUDIO COFFEE (Tuscaloosa), CRESTWOOD COFFEE CO. (Birmingham), OLDE TOWNE COFFEE SHOP (Huntsville), ORGANIC HARVEST (Vestavia), RED RAIN (Homewood), TRIA MARKET (Homewood), V. RICHARDS (Birmingham) and WHOLE FOODS (Birmingham).

Black Warrior Riverkeeper Roast is brewed in-house at Birmingham’s CRESTWOOD COFFEE and BOTTLETREE CAFE.

THIS SATURDAY, August 11 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., the CRESTWOOD COFFEE “YARD SALE” will be held at 5512 Crestwood Blvd., in Birmingham, where you can drink their special dark version of Black Warrior Riverkeeper Roast, purchase our new bumper stickers and 12 oz coffee bags and get free educational handouts about the Black Warrior watershed and how you can protect it. For more information about that event, please call Crestwood Coffee at 205-595-0300.

Charles Scribner
Director of Development
Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Inc.

The Black Warrior Riverkeeper environmental group will hold a benefit concert June 14 at the Bottletree Cafe at 3719 3rd Avenue South, Birmingham, Alabama. Three great bands are on the lineup to start at 8 p.m. and play until 2 p.m., including Organic Earthbound, the Locust Fork Band and Alo’s Meds. The Bottletree is an eco-friendly Cafe and music venue now featuring a full cash bar.

Tickets are $10 tickets and are available at TheBottletree.Com or the night of the show at the door. All ticket sales go to Riverkeeper’s non-profit efforts to protect your waterways and drinking water!

For more info or to donate in lieu of attending, contact Charles Scribner at 205-458-0095 or cscribner@blackwarriorriver.org.

The annual cleanup of Bankhead Lake will be held Saturday, June 2, from 8 a.m - noon at Buddy Vines Camp on the Locust Fork. There will be a free hot dog lunch served after cleanup.

What to bring:
- clothes you don’t mind getting dirty
- shoes you don’t mind getting wet
- sunglasses, hat, sunscreen, insect repellent
- work gloves
- dip nets

Directions from Birmingham:

Take I-59/20 West towards Tuscaloosa. Take exit #120 “Ensley Avenue 20th Street”.
Bear right at the bottom of the ramp. You are now on highway 269 and the mile markers start from “0″.
Follow this road straight for 15 miles to the 15 mile marker.
Just past the marker is an intersection with a BP gas station.
Turn left onto Short Creek Rd. Follow to dead end.
Turn left onto Alliance Rd. Go 1.2 miles to top of third hill and take a hard right onto “Buddy Vines Camp Rd”.
Follow main road 2.7 miles to camp.
Phone: 436-3430

For more information, contact Kellie Johnston (205) 264-8461 or Mark Meador (205) 553-9373.