In 1979, a group supporting a moratorium against whaling brought a 100-foot hot-air balloon to Birmingham’s Mortimer Jordan Park, known before that as Behrens’ Park, in an attempt to call attention to the plight of nautical mammals.
In preceding years, marine mammals such as whales and dolphins had found their place in pop culture with things such as the 1960s television series “Flipper” and the 1967 novel “The Day of the Dolphin,” as well as the 1973 film inspired by that novel. The mammals’ rise in popularity caused an uptick in information about threats to whales and dolphins, leading to the forming of organizations such as Greenpeace, which launched its first anti-whaling campaign in 1975, and direct action from Russia, Iceland, South Africa and other countries beginning in the 1970s.
UAB’s campus is still home to inflatable items from time to time, such as the 16-foot inflatable colon that graces the Campus Green each March for Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, courtesy of UAB Employee Wellness. And even if no inflatables are involved, UAB students today have many opportunities to get involved with causes that interest them, from local organizations such as the Birmingham Education Foundation and the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama to global initiatives such as Room to Read Sri Lanka.
And they aren’t the only ones. UAB employees stay busy volunteering as well, whether through giving their time to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society or at the Blazer Kitchen. Let the UAB Reporter know how people in your unit give back — submit a publicity request with the details and send a group selfie to reporter@uab.edu for a chance to be featured in Behind the Scenes.