Tour of Maclellan Island - by Caroline H.

Maclellan Island Expedition

Chattanooga is full of wildlife and plants. We have a large range of habitats—from the Appalachian Mountain Range to the Tennessee Valley River. In fact, in the heart of Chattanooga there is an island dedicated to preserve wildlife: Maclellan Island. Imagine hiking through a majestic, tall grove of trees, looking up at a luscious canopy dappled with sunlight. Water laps up onto your toes as you sit on the beach, and all is quiet except for the sound of a lone bird’s call in the morning sun. Tranquil, isn’t it? That’s what The Audubon Society of Chattanooga thought when they received the land from Mr. Maclellan, a man who believed the piece of land should be used to keep endangered wildlife species safe. (Once, the land was used by Indians to as an extension of Citico village and likely used to process buffalos, but that’s another story).

Praying mantis on ironweed 

The area was perfect to keep these animals safe, and worked well for respectful campers. The Audubon Society built multiple beautiful campsites to house anyone who wanted to track the rare birds or learn about the other wildlife, as well as a very nice bathroom. Fast forward to September 2018—when the air is starting to get a little crisp and Chattanoogans start to inhale Starbuck’s warm Pumpkin Lattes. The day we visited, a person could not walk through the trees and follow trails to beautiful unknown destinations. Why? Because the trails are overgrown with invasive species as well as downed trees. This makes it a wonderful haven for wildlife and a nice green space close to town but it is a little tricky for people during mosquito and poison ivy season. 

Trailside privet (an invasive shrub) 

If you want to camp you can get permission on the Chattanooga Audubon website, but you will have to be willing to camp in a primitive campsite as the improvements have somewhat fallen into disrepair.  I personally think that the Bathroom would be great in the next horror movie: Overgrown. Why was once an oasis for wildlife and those who want to know about it now look like The Maze Runner and The Matrix had a love child? Because its location makes it difficult to maintain. The non-profit Audubon Society of Chattanooga is located at Audubon Acres near Hamilton place mall and they have a small staff.  No one is on the island day-to-day to really know about the current state of the island. However, the Tucker River Fellows would like to help out with this endeavor. Kayla, a Junior at Girls Preparatory School, has gotten a small start on this by working on new signs for Maclellan Island, using laser printing to etch a welcome sign to all travelers.

We hope to help maintain Maclellan island as a means to teach future generations about the beautiful and endangered wildlife in Chattanooga, and around the world.

Friday, June 15th by Isabelle F.

On Friday, June 15th, we had our last day of Freshmen Tucker River Fellows week. We finished off the week on a high note after visiting the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute and trying out seine fishing! After meeting in the Tucker River Fellows room at GPS, the River Fellows, Mrs. Couch, Ms. White and Dr. Noel set off to TNACI. Our tour guide took us around TNACI, telling us about all the different species they have there and projects happening currently.

A couple of the highlights of visiting TNACI were being able to see baby sturgeon that had just arrived on Wednesday and learning about some of the endangered species they have there. One of the most interesting part of TNACI was the bioretention area, which supplies the building with water, and also filters the wastewater before it goes into the river. After finishing up our tour of TNACI, we all headed to the South Chickamauga Creek for seine fishing. Once we all put on our waders, we got a tutorial on seine fishing, then we got to try it ourselves! At first, we weren’t very good at catching the fish inside the net, but the more we practiced, the more we improved. We eventually caught all different types of darters, a couple of sunfish, and a type of catfish called a Mad Tom, which is state endangered in Georgia. Once we had moved a good distance downstream, we headed back upstream, towards the dam. At the dam, we hoped to catch some of the bigger species of fish that live in the area. Sadly, we didn’t catch any of the possible huge fish, but we still caught some very interesting types of fish.

During the last couple of tries to catch something larger, we were quite determined. So determined that while we were kicking the fish towards the net, all of us fell in the river, getting soaked! At that point, the entire group headed back to the riverbank to strip off our now soaking wet waders. After eating lunch, we got back onto the bus and headed back to GPS. Throughout the day we learned about TNACI, seine fishing and much more, our Tucker River Fellows week couldn’t have ended better!

Thursday, June 14 by Mary Kate J.

Thursday morning, the excited river fellows packed into a bus and headed down the the Conasauga River! Eager and ready to go, we took off on our one hour ride. That short one hour ride turned into two due to limited signs in the national forest and taking a few wrong turns along the winding woodsy road. The ride was definitely work the wait, the Conasauga river did not disappoint! As we began to unpack out of the bus, we quickly stumbled onto the beautiful rier. Waiting for our arriver were our national forest service guides, prepared with wet suits and snorkeling goggles.

We all hopped into our wet suits and dove into the chilly water. In the water, we found a variety of fish including the freshwater drum, blue shiner, holiday darter, hog sucker, bridled darter, tricolor shiner, long nose gar, orange belly sunfish and many more! The long nose gar that we saw was the only one the guides had seen all season and it was definitely my favorite fish to spot. Overall I had a blast at the Conasauga river, and world love to go back and snorkel there again someday!

Wednesday, June 13- Chickamauga Dam, Wastewater treatment plant, South Chickamauga creek - Abby Claire P.

Tour of the Chickamauga Dam , Wastewater treatment plant, and ways to preserve the South Chickamauga creek - Abby Claire P.

Wednesday , June 13,2018, we loaded up the bus and traveled to the Chickamauga Dam. When we arrived at the dam we were greeted by Mr. Robert  and soon taken inside to learn the history behind TVA and the dam. We learned many things about how the dam was built and that it was built between 1936-1940. It’s really interesting to see that TVA still uses the original equipment and machines to run the Dam from 1940. While  the trip sounds like a lot of just learning , it wasn’t, we actually got to hold the tools that they would have originally repaired the Dam with along with seeing a barge go through the lock. However, to end the tour we got to see problems that harm the river such as trash pollution. 

That afternoon we were given information about South Chickamauga Creek by a Sandy Kurtz from South Chickamauga Creek Greenway Alliance. She taught us many problems that they are faced with concerning water pollution such as dirt runoff from construction sites. She also taught us about chicken processing plants and just dirty water in general and how that affects fish  and other species. To end our lunch meeting with her, she took us on a walk and showed us just what to look for in things that cause polluted water and who to call to take action.

Lastly, we went to the wastewater treatment plant. While it doesn’t  sound very interesting, it’s actually neat when you get there and look at the many ways they have to clean the water and you realize that they have to really be thorough. We first had a presentation about where they get their water from, how they clean it, and it’s last  destination , the river. While chemicals have to be used to clean the water , they make sure that what they do doesn’t pollute the river. At end the day , we got to see the actual water and it really makes you think about all the waste that you send to them.

Tuesday 6/12/18 by Charlie H.

Today the river was covered with a blanket of mist- slowly disappearing as the sun peered over the mountains and hills around us to look at it. As we pull out our boats from Pot Point House, Ms. Couch, our teacher, stops to take a picture of us as we start to load our kayaks into the tranquil water.

The kayaks create a ripple, one that stretches far over the Tennessee River Gorge, where we are in the middle of a 9 mile kayak. As I push past the water, I hope that maybe we can all make a ripple, but instead a ripple in people. One that might just stretch a little farther, and a little deeper. We all manage to pull our kayaks together so that we can take a photo with Terry and Bailey, our kayak guides from Outdoor Chattanooga.

As we paddle on, we see a small, green cylinder up ahead, a buoy. I'll have to tell you more about this in person but it brought out the true friends and true river fellows in our group. After the buoy fun, we paddle to the end, but not before seeing a dragonfly larva, and a Kingfisher. The dragonfly larva climbs out of the water to the side of a rock, where it hatches out as a majestic dragonfly and leaves its casing behind.  On the other hand, the Kingfisher starts out in a nest above the water, and finds food using shallow dives. This is how it earned it’s name, the Kingfisher.

As we finished up our two day kayak trip, we traveled back to GPS to regroup and meet a TVA Archeologist. This same woman told us about the Atyl-Atyl, a spear type weapon used to kill animals many ages ago.

She explained how Radio Carbon Dating (a way to find out how old an artifact is) worked. She talked about the National Historic Preservation Act, which keeps people from digging in areas without a government permit. The reason why it is so important that these places of artifacts are not touched is because it is almost like a crime scene. When someone is found dead, and a knife is three feet away from them, if someone moves or takes that knife, that could mean the difference between two possible suspects going to jail. It is almost exactly the same in these historical sites, but instead the “crime scene” is 1 million years old. However, when a Native American Indian burial is found, the remains are decided by the tribe as to what to do with the remains, instead of the government, in memoriam and out of respect for their people. This law is called the NACPR law. The challenge for today is to figure out what NACPR stands for, since I didn’t write that in my notes!

Monday June 10, 2018 By Abby K.

“It was going to be an exciting week,” I thought the night before. I was thrilled to be accepted into the River Fellows program and was excited to learn all about the river. In my haste, I forgot to set an alarm and woke up the next morning in a panic at 8:45. I scrambled to get ready and rushed to school to go kayaking. When I arrived, we grabbed our PFDs, (no not the documents) Personal Flotation Devices. We also filled out a chart with our strengths and weaknesses. Some questions were: “I feel comfortable on the water,” or, “I like learning about our community and how the river relates to it.” I don’t remember the actual questions so don’t quote me. But anyway, the idea was to put a rock on things we were “rock solid” with, (I’m hilarious I know) and a leaf where we had room to grow. Get it? Hmm.
We were also told the plant leaves were violet (I think) and edible, and our initial plan was to eat them as an oath of commitment to our fellow Fellows. But we decided against it after we discovered it had been growing near the lawn. They put a lot of stuff on that lawn, OK! But I digress... after receiving our new fancy “Rite in the Rain” TM waterproof notebooks, we set out on, and I quote, “The worst bus at GPS, that also doesn’t have air conditioning.” I’m serious. After learning where we were headed for the next week, Mr. Paul gave us the bad bus [addendum from Mrs. Couch- this is the adventure bus!!] . Ultimately, it turned out to be fine. After getting on it, usually wet and dirty, we just stopped caring. After a fun bus ride talking (but mostly complaining) about our weird summer reading books, and Abby Claire and me arguing about the repetition and sadness of “Into The Wild,” we finally arrived. The bus stopped at a put-in a little past Williams Island, which is managed by the TWRA, Tennessee Wildlife Resource Association. There were lots of butterflies all around and we stopped to eat lunch before embarking in the kayaks. Chef Brad was very considerate and supplied us with brownies. Once finished with lunch, we looked at the kudzu surrounding the land next to the docks and were told about it and how it had invaded large parts of the county. Then we took a picture after applying 3 layers of sunscreen.

We were then instructed on maneuvering the kayaks, and possible dangers around the river. And while easing some of our fears, we managed to scare ourselves silly after Mary Claire asked if snakes came near the kayaks. They responded with, “Just don’t go under the trees, so they don't drop on you.” You’ve never seen a group of girls turn white that fast, though that may have been the sunscreen. Regardless, we climbed into the kayaks that Outdoor Chattanooga brought for us.

Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that Outdoor Chattanooga employees were with us that day. Terri and Bailey went with us while Sunshine helped us load and unload kayaks. We learned about their partnership with the mayor to encourage Chattanoogans to get out and be active. We found out they have a rental program for kayaks and more, so anyone can come out and be active. After setting out, it was a race to the finish! Well, not at first. After many failed attempts at turning the kayaks, which were sea kayaks designed NOT to turn, we had eventual success and leisurely drifted downstream with the help of the current. We saw lots of beautiful animals, like kingfishers, ospreys, GBH as Ms. Couch has dubbed the Great Blue Heron, lots of insects and turtles, and even some fish that jumped out of the water. About an hour in though, the ominous dark clouds we saw far behind us when departing, had started to gain on us. We saw the fabled rock we had heard so much about from the freshmen, but were told to quickly keep paddling. During our panic to the Pothouse, Caroline and I started an epic splash war, with poor Ellie usually getting stuck in it. We continued rapidly paddling towards Pothouse, which speaking of rapid, that’s how it got its name. Historically, there were three different rapids, which are now covered with water because of the dam, called the pot, the pan, and the skillet. Apparently, when the rapids were there, explorers lost their pots, pans, and skillets when their canoes flipped.
 Back to paddling...Mary Kate was the intelligent one in our situation, and decided to put on her rain jacket during a pause to look at wildlife. Even though we were still on the edge of the storm, it was hot, and we still had sunlight on us, she refused to take it off, insisting that when she took it off it would start raining. And lo and behold, literally one minute before we saw the house, it started

pouring; not your average little sprinkle where you could still see the sun, but heavy thunder, lightning and downpouring.

 Luckily, we were right next to the house and got out quickly. Unluckily, besides Mary Kate, we were all soaked and couldn’t hear or see very well. We all paddled our kayaks into the shallow water around the house, (and standing on very slippery rocks I might add,) lifted our kayaks out of the water into the 4 foot high bank above us. I, unfortunately, was at the back when we pulled in and tried pulling my kayak closer, only to fall backwards into the water. And in a desperate attempt to not float downstream, I latched onto another kayak before pulling myself back on to the rocks. After pulling our kayaks onshore and wading through some poison ivy, that luckily none of us got, we stood on the porch to “dry”, which was just taking our clothes off and going inside in our swimsuits.
Once inside, and after drying and showering off, Ms. Mariah Prescott came to talk to us about the Tennessee River Gorge Trust. We learned all about the organization and what they do for the river, and how they work with lots of different people. Then she told us about her job specifically, and how she started as a volunteer and worked her way up to water pH tester. She explained how important testing is in problem areas like ‘the peanut butter bowl’ which is a section polluted with sediment to the point that it’s brown. The TRGT also does lots of work to the land they own, lease, or work on. And on their land there is also a bird banding/ tracking lab, and a reptile and amphibian center. They also work with local elementary school children to raise interest and involvement in the river.

After her presentation, we decided to play Monopoly while dinner cooked. Ellie and I are good at deals, and after driving everyone else bankrupt from Boardwalk taxes, we went down to eat. Terri and Bailey made homemade vegetarian lasagna, which was amazing. We then brought cookies upstairs and began our night of excitement. It started with talking about boys, and then decided to go on a night hike. Fun. And for the cherry on top of scary things that night, Ellie and I walked outside first, only to see a big, black dog with glowing eyes. Now, that might not seem scary, but Ellie and I are huge Sherlock fans, particularly the new BBC version. And we had just recently watched the “Hounds Of Baskerville” episode, which, to those who haven’t seen it, is about a rabid, evil, giant black hound with glowing eyes. Needless to say, we ran inside screaming, and scaring everyone else. Once we worked up the courage to go back out, it turned out to be a sweet old dog wandering around, who we promptly petted and fed. The hike was beautiful though. We turned out our lights and listened to the frogs and owls, and watched the beautiful fireflies. On returning, most of us decided to sleep, but our room didn’t. You see, Ellie’s birthday was the next day, so we decided to stay up till midnight to wish her one. Afterwards we finally slept. And I’ll let someone else write about tomorrow.

Delayed postings...

I have been remiss in publishing blog posts by students in a timely manner as more of our activities are being posted on twitter @triverfellows. 
I've just posted 3 blogs from the fall/ winter and will be publishing the summer posts soon! Thanks for keeping us with us... apologies for the delay.
- Katye Couch

Serve and Protect- by Talley L.

September 21, 2017

Both the sophomores and freshmen went to a luncheon called Serve and Protect, which was a cooking show that highlighted using seafood.

The purpose of the show was to inform people what seafood should or shouldn’t be used for cooking, as well as providing cooking tips. During the show, all the guests were provided with a meal while we watched the show.

The show we watched was only a practice though, since the real event was at night. We had to leave early, but we enjoyed the show and complimentary sectioned Tupperware with utensils.