Tuesday, June 11th

Tuesday morning started with a breakfast casserole in the Pot Point House. Afterward, we packed our bags and headed outside. We grabbed our kayaks and one by one they were placed into the Tennessee River. It was decided soon after that we should take a picture of us side by side. 

    As we started to paddle, we were surprised by how much easier it was to paddle than Monday. The Chickamauga Dam released water which made the current stronger. The reason why was a mystery to us, but we suspected that it may have something to do with the large amount of rain we got last week. While we kayaked, we spotted lots of wildlife,  including Great Blue Herons, a bald eagle, a turtle, and more. I took a stick and kayaked with it. We finished up at a ramp at the bottom of Racoon Mountain. There, we ate our lunch and chatted. Soon after, Outdoor Chattanooga came to pick us up and drop us off at GPS. 

      The founder of Green Steps came to speak about the consequences of littering. Green Steps is a non profit litter awareness organization that started in 2017. Some consequences she spoke of were that litter such as plastic takes a range of thousands to millions of years to biodegrade, negatively impacts wildlife and humans, and that litter is an eyesore. She also mentioned volunteer programs such as monthly clean ups and Trail Raisers. Green Steps has an app where it encourages people to pick up litter by giving you one Amazon dollars for one bag of litter. Overall, Tuesday was amazing and we all enjoyed it.

   

Seranino Ship yard- Oct 17 by Mary Claire N.

Serodino Ship Yard:
At our Tucker River Fellows meeting this week we got the opportunity to tour our local shipyard. We meet one of the owners who showed us around. The first thing we saw when we arrived was a large tower that holds any scrap grains that were collected. These scraps don't pass the regulations of the sender, so instead are sold to local farmers at a lower price. Then we climbed up onto the towboat and went upstream a little to pick up an empty liquid barge that had arrived today. 

These barges save companies with orders of large quantities thousands as one barge is equal to fifteen railcars or sixty trucks as the engine can produce from a few thousand horsepowers to 10,000. This was a fun and information trip and if I ever need to send a large shipment somewhere I will definitely use a barge.

Outdoor Chattanooga- Sept 19th by Ellie F.

For the Tucker River Fellows meeting this week, we all took a trip to the Outdoor Chattanooga office in Coolidge park, and then stopped by Renaissance park to eat lunch and learn. When we arrived at Outdoor Chattanooga, we were greeted by Terri Chapin, who we had met and gone on an exciting kayak trip down the river with over the summer. Terri spoke to us about everything Outdoor Chattanooga, such as what it actually does, the history of Outdoor Chattanooga, and how all of it relates back to the river. Outdoor Chattanooga is a division of the City of Chattanooga that focuses on the promotion of outdoor recreation. They offer many activities, such as hiking, climbing, biking, kayaking, whitewater rafting, and so much more. Allowing people to experience the delights of nature, especially the river, helps to raise awareness about protecting it. We left Coolidge Park with new knowledge all about Outdoor Chattanooga, and then Mrs. Couch drove us over to Renaissance Park. There, we learned about a special feature in the parking lot. Instead of normal concrete in the parking spaces, there is a special substance that absorbs water, and this feature helps to filter dirt out of the water, before it gets to the river, and also helps to prevent flooding. After learning about Renaissance Park’s interesting aspect, we finished our lunches and headed back to GPS, and thankfully arrived on time!

Plan an outing with Outdoor Chattanooga soon!

Youth freshwater summit- By Charlie H.

Nov. 7, 2018: The Youth Freshwater Summit is a Tennessee River convention for teenagers--
and it’s absolutely fascinating. I was a little nervous about the summit, but as Dr. Anna George
and Hayley Wise introduced the event, my fears were completely assuaged.
During the 1st half of the day we toured the facility that won a LEED Gold award for its low impact
on the environment. Did you know that the plumbing is supplied by rainwater gathered
in a cistern outside of the building? Or that the entire landscape that the institute is on is
flourishing with specific native species of plants, forming a rain garden that properly irrigates
the land into a small wetland that now supports a beaver dam?
(GPS hopes to soon add a rain garden similar to it for a Tucker River Fellows Project). Later
in the day we got a chance to learn hands-on how TNACI (also the Cherokee name for the
Tennessee River) tested the river in different areas. Speaking of the river, did you know that the
Tennessee River is as diverse in fish species as the Amazon!?! And pollutants, such as
industrial pollutants from chemical plants and non-point source pollution from soil erosion
cause habitat degradation for many of the diverse wildlife in our river-- killing them and
therefore many other species in the process. There is this (pardon my Disney) “circle of life”
in which each species depends on another-- like the mussels relationship
with the tangerine darter in the Tennessee River. If the Tangerine darter didn’t have any
mayflies to eat, then the mussels wouldn’t have anything to disperse their larvae
(scientific name: Glochidia) around the river to maintain genetic diversity.

Serve and Protect- Sept 13 by Mary Kate J.

Serve and protect: 
September, 2018  This Wednesday for our Tucker river fellows club meeting, we headed down to the IMAX theatre for the Serve and Protect cooking show. This show is a yearly event hosted at the IMAX where chefs across the south come to show Chattanoogans how to prepare invasive species of fish. When we arrived at the IMAX we were greeted by tables filled with a wide variety of fish, fruit, and peach cobbler bars. The stars of the show were the Lionfish and the Wreckfish. We learned that the Lionfish is a highly invasive species that can destroy ecosystems and coral reefs. While Wreckfish is also an invasive species, they are being added to many menus across the country. At the serve and protect cooking show we learned how to prepare these invasive fish at a restaurant or even at home. More people are now branching out and trying these fish to try and get rid of them to save many ecosystems in the ocean, we were also encouraged to try and get our local grocery stores to start supplying these fish. Overall it was a great experience with even greater food! I would definitely recommend it to others and would go back again!

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!