Augusta area residents still recovering from Hurricane Helene might soon have some state-developed online help to determine which trees to plant as replacements for those lost in the storm.
The Grow Back Project, a University of Georgia-led reforestation effort launched after Hurricane Helene devastated the region's tree canopy, is developing an interactive website to help Augusta-area homeowners select the right trees for their properties.
Sam Perren, operations coordinator in the Archway Partnership at the University of Georgia, oversees the Grow Back Project.
"The project was born from the Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area, Georgia Power and
the University of Georgia wanting to help bring back the community forest and its benefits after all the devastation of Hurricane Helene," Perren said.
Perren said local partners, including Georgia Power, reached out to UGA last year, making this a regional effort.
"Recognizing that the tree canopy took some major hits in that storm, we wanted to give people information on how to plant the right tree in the right place to bring that canopy back," he said. "We're all working toward building this website to help homeowners across the region replant their piece of the urban forest."
The project, funded by the Community Foundation for the CSRA, Georgia Power and Dominion Energy, involves faculty, students and local organizations, Perren said.
"At the University of Georgia, we have a mission to serve the whole state," Perren said. "So when partners come to us with a need like this that clearly serves the state, that's something we want to be involved with. This is what we do as a land-grant university."
The core of the project is a custom interactive website where residents can identify the best trees to replant. The website, launching in fall 2026, will feature a database of trees selected by horticultural and forestry experts at UGA, planting and care guidance, and connections to community reforestation events.
Users will be able to enter their ZIP code and receive recommendations for trees that are better suited to their area.
"Part of our role within public service and outreach at UGA is to serve as a front door for all the resources available through the university," Perren said. "So when we get a request for information about how to plant the right tree in the right place, we're able to connect with different departments on campus to pull all those resources together."
The New Media Institute at the University of Georgia, led by Claire Stanley, coordinated the project, involving two teams of five students each: one creating a database of suitable plants for reforestation and the other developing a virtual reality experience to help users visualize plant placements.
The New Media Institute student team included Reagan Brode, Amaya Powell, Safa Ali, Kevin Huynh and Tyler Nevin.
"Students in their final semester at UGA work either with a client or on a new technology to create a digital solution to a problem," said Stanley, an instructor at the New Media Institute. "It's a web application currently. The database and everything else exist through WordPress. It's called a WordPress API, and right now it's still in testing mode. It hasn't officially launched yet."
Stanley said her favorite part of the project was seeing how rewarding it was for the students to create something with real-world impact.
"My favorite part was watching them craft the narrative around the impact," Stanley said. "They basically do elevator-pitch presentations throughout the semester. During that time, they're crafting the narrative of why what they're doing matters. I think the end product motivated them to go further with the technology than they thought they could. I think they surprised themselves with how advanced the project was in the end."
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Hurricane Helene tree losses spur UGA replanting tool for homeowners
