Written by Ella Sole

Walking along the shoreline, a small plastic straw reflects the sun’s rays and catches a child’s eye, sparking a life dedicated to making a change in the man-made, polluted environment. At the age of 7, this is precisely what happened to Cash Daniels.

“Before that, I had always loved getting out on the river: fishing, kayaking, swimming, things like that. When I found that plastic straw, I knew it would harm the animals in the environment that I loved, so I knew I had to do something to help defend it,” said Daniels. “Due to that, I have been able to remove 46,000 pounds of trash from the river so far.”

Plastic waste is ever-present on the banks of the Tennessee River and Chattanooga Creek, harming aesthetics and the biodiverse habitats. With these waterways so close to Daniels’ home, he felt a personal responsibility to do something to help sustain and improve them. Daniels, now a 16-year-old Chattanooga, Tennessee native, has shown his passion for cleaning up the environment around him by constructing and placing fishing line recycling bins in six states.

He began by making an impact in his local community, enlisting the help of his family and friends to guide him on this journey to make a difference.

“I started doing regular old cleanups with my family, just going out and picking up trash,” Daniels said. “I got support from my church, Trail Life, and several other groups. And, my entire family is also very supportive.”

Getting the community together to come out and help was no easy task. Daniels and his family diligently organized cleanups, providing everything that the volunteers needed to succeed in the remediation efforts.

“Preparation for a cleanup is just me and my family finding a spot, and figuring out parking, getting buckets, trying to get people out, and making sure we have everything like buckets, bags, grabbers, gloves, things like that,” Daniels said.

Daniels began building his support through social media, using the nickname “The Conservation Kid,” to create and spread his mission across different platforms. 

“I started posting it on Instagram and Facebook,” Daniels said. “I went on several news stations and newspapers, and then it just started getting bigger and bigger.”

Being close to the Tennessee River, Daniels had easy access to a high-pollution area, mainly because of its location near downtown. Due to Chattanooga’s growing tourist population and traffic along the river, the city’s waterways have been indirectly affected by plastic waste, polluting the water and harming the vegetation and animals that inhabit them. 

“The Tennessee River in particular is one of the most polluted rivers with microplastics than any other river recorded in the entire world, and that’s just in my backyard,” Daniels said. “So it being there, and me knowing that I can do something about it, is really what got me involved, is knowing that I can make a difference.”

Frequent cleanups along the Tennessee River and similar bodies of water help remove harmful macro- and microplastics, preventing further contamination and environmental harm.

“Most trash is definitely in high traffic areas like parks, state parks, boat ramps, places like that,” Daniels said.

Daniels receives funding grants from organizations such as National Geographic’s Slingshot Challenge and Cox Enterprises. These grants enable cleanup projects, as Daniels maintains personal motivation from visiting schools to partake in monthly cleanups

“I’d say one way is just seeing the difference that I’ve made, whether that be all the trash that I’ve picked up, the animals that I saved, and also just seeing other kids get involved. I have had the pleasure of meeting several other youth who are in conservation,” said Daniels. 

Daniels continues to see the impact he has on his peers, fueling the energy and positivity around environmental efforts and activism within the youth. Reaching youth through his own community and his outside connections has been one of his primary missions.

“The biggest reward from my work is definitely meeting new people and going to new places,” Daniels said. “Also, just seeing kids that I go and give talks to get pumped up for conservation. It warms my heart to see other kids wanting to get involved.”

Even with increased environmental awareness in the 21st century, marine macroplastics persist in littering Chattanooga’s waterways. However, Cash Daniels and the next generation continue to create new efforts to clean up the local environment, reaching out to the community and using their voices to highlight the significance of preserving the aquatic biodiversity in Chattanooga and all around the world.

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Growing Green Minds

Written by Ansley Barry

Warm sunlight breaks through the tree canopy at Chattanooga, Tennessee’s Reflection Riding, glistening off the surface of Lookout Creek with a gentle fog rising in the early autumn morning. As community members gather along the banks for the city’s annual River Rescue, a group of local high school students help them settle into their canoes before sending them off to spend the day clearing the river of its trash. These students are a part of the city’s initiative to involve its youth in environmental conservation efforts.

Dedicating to making nature accessible to everyone, Reflection Riding is an organization that has taken steps to educate its local youth through the creation of their Native Landscape Management Apprenticeship program. Through this, students at The Howard School, a historically underserved high school located in the city with a minority enrollment of 99% (Institute of Education Sciences, 2025). They have the opportunity to learn conservation techniques through land restoration.

Not only does this program prioritize the preservation of Chattanooga’s natural environment, but it is making an active effort to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to be involved. Historically, the environmental activist movement in the US has been primarily spearheaded by white, middle-class citizens while minority and low-income communities have often been left out of the conversation (USDA, 2002). 

Lead Naturalist and Summercamp Co-Manager at Reflection Riding, Ailani Ramirez-Pineda, helps lead the apprentices in navigating the outdoor world, which may be unfamiliar to them. 

The original intent of the apprenticeship was to “diversify the conservation pipeline in getting more people of color into conservation work,” according to Ramirez-Pineda. “With The Howard School, they have a large population of Black and Latinx students who live in very urban neighborhoods. They don’t have a lot of trees. Sometimes the parks aren’t well-kept. Sometimes they’re not safe, so they don’t necessarily have access to the outdoors. And even if they did, I don’t know that they would feel comfortable exploring it by themselves. One of the big things when asking for grant money was getting these students out to Reflection Riding, so they can see that there are spaces that are safe for them and where they are welcome.”

The program began as a result of grant funding received by the United Way to bring local high school students to the Reflection Riding campus on field trips with their environmental science classes. These field trips provide hands-on learning for the students, allowing them to view what they’re studying in the classroom in the real-world.

“Sometimes they have students that are not as engaged in certain parts of their class, but when they get here and are doing the hands-on thing, they really blossom and even become leaders for other students,” said Ramirez-Pineda. 

It is on these field trips that students are often informed of the apprenticeship and encouraged to apply. For many of them, this is their first time exploring the beautiful mountains that surround their city, and they feel inspired to delve even further. 

Sixteen-year-old Blandy Chilel Lopez has been working as an apprentice since the beginning of the program in January 2023.  

“I hope to spread the word about landscape management. Since working here, I’ve found out how much damage it really does when people litter and grow plants that look pretty but are not supposed to be there,” said Chilel Lopez. 

The program is making a difference in the lives of students far beyond equipping them with a knowledge of the natural world.  

“We have seen a growth in confidence. A lot of them are super shy. We also get updates from their teachers, and they definitely see an increase in engagement, and in participation, and in helping others,” said Ramirez-Pineda. 

For eighteen-year-old apprentice Jahore Vann, this rings true. “Working at the Reflection Riding apprenticeship has impacted my life in multiple ways. Before I started working here, I used to have really bad social anxiety. I didn’t like talking to anyone no matter what. Now, I’m not afraid to talk to people,” said Vann. 

While the apprentices’ curriculum is growing, their daily tasks consist of removing invasive species, restoring natural landscapes, taking care of young plants in the nursery, and harnessing other outdoor skills. Alongside participating in community events, the students have recently begun connecting with various organizations across the city, like the City of Chattanooga and the Tennessee Aquarium, to broaden their educational experience. 

Reflection Riding has taken the steps to educate their local students. Ramirez-Pineda said that her hope is they “will gain a sense of confidence in themselves and grow a love for conservation, even if it’s decided it’s not the career path they necessarily want to take. I hope they take the love and share it with others… I also want them to feel a sense of ownership in the projects they’re working on and become future stewards of nature.”

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