Land Trust of North Alabama is partnering with Downtown Huntsville, Inc. (DHI) and Downtown Charitable Fund to provide temporary employment to service industry workers who have been displaced due to the recent coronavirus outbreak.

The program will assist unemployed and furloughed workers from businesses in the Downtown Huntsville Core and Downtown Huntsville Districts. The Land Trust will temporarily hire these recently unemployed workers to remove invasive Japanese Honeysuckle plants from the trails on Monte Sano Nature Preserve. The program is anticipated to begin early April and will pay each eligible employee $10/hour for up to 40 hours per week.

To be eligible for the program, the worker must prove that they were a downtown Huntsville food, beverage, or retail industry employee who, effective April 1, 2020, was laid off from their position due to cutbacks from the coronavirus outbreak. Only unemployed employees are eligible, and individuals will no longer be eligible when they are re-employed for 20 or more hours per week at any employer. All eligible employees will receive details about the program and how to apply from their employer. The initial deadline is April 15, 2020, by 5:00 p.m. If interest in the program warrants, an additional application period may be opened.

Mayor Tommy Battle responded positively to the program, saying, “In times of crisis, it is heartening to see the many ways our community has come together to help each other. This creative opportunity to provide jobs and wages for our displaced downtown workers and to help one of our treasured assets is the kind of compassionate creativity that will help Huntsville get through this pandemic stronger than ever before.”

The Land Trust is grateful for the funding to make this program possible. We appreciate the opportunity to help individuals in our community who need it while also making progress to remove invasive species from our trails.