Category: Chattanooga

Chattanooga, Photography, Racing, Sports, Uncategorized

A Race to the Finish Line

Written by Zoie Denton

Axel Robards looks at the camera as he prepares for testing at Atlanta Motorsports Park, Georgia. Friday November 21, 2025 (Photo by Zoie Denton)

At just 14 years old, Axel Robards, a young driver from Chattanooga, Tennessee, is already setting his sights on one of the most exclusive dreams: a seat in Formula 1. What makes his journey so compelling isn’t just the speed or the ambition, it’s the unshakable belief that one day, he’ll race among the best. The one sport in which you can say, “You’re one of the best in the world.”

For Robards, racing was not something he discovered later in life; it coursed through his veins from the very beginning. Growing up in Chattanooga, he was immersed in a world where his two older brothers spent their weekends kart-racing. As a kid, he never got behind the wheel, but he had a front-row seat to his brothers’ battles, feeling every turn, every drift, and every slip.

“[Racing] made everything feel alive,” said Robards. He didn’t just like watching; he wanted to race. That longing matured fast. Around age 11, with no formal training, Robards got behind the wheel of a kart for the first time. What followed was less of a tentative drive and more of a revelation. 

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Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Diversity, Family, Healing, Health, Karate, Sports

The Seated Champion

Written by Zoie Denton

Joel Westbrook talks about his journey as a wheelchair athlete in martial arts and how his spina bifida doesn’t limit him. He is the first wheelchair athlete to join the U.S. Para-Karate National Team and became an inspiration for those with physical limitations to challenge themselves, so they can take the first steps towards greatness.

Greatness wears many faces. For 18-year-old martial artist Joel Westbrook, greatness is carved into every determined push of his wheels. As the first ever male wheelchair athlete selected for the U.S. Para-Karate National Team, he has become a living symbol that limitations don’t define a person. His journey is proof that true strength is not bound by the body, but by the fire that drives it forward.

Joel Westbrook releases a sharp kiai, a forceful, exclamatory shout in karate. This practice supposedly connected the mind and body, as he executed the final move in his kata. Tuesday, November 11, 2025. (Photo by Angelina Fraga.)

Westbrook was born with spina bifida, a condition that affects how the spine and nerves develop. He can walk short distances using braces and crutches, but his wheelchair is where he feels strongest and most comfortable. Despite the challenges he faces, he has never felt limited.

When Westbrook was around eight years old, he saw a television show with a character performing martial arts in a wheelchair. For most viewers, it was simply a character, but for Westbrook, he saw himself represented in a sport that had always seemed inaccessible. Under the guidance of his physical therapist, Westbrook and his family discovered Green’s Karate in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a dojo known for adapting karate for all students.

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Animals, Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Creative Discovery Museum, Daily Life, donate, Environment, farming, Food, outdoors, Sustainability

Where Hope Takes Root

Written by Sydney Banks

Lillian Moore, Director of Community Impact at the Bethlehem Center, speaks about the The Farm at The Beth and the role that pollinators play in supporting sustainable food systems. The organization manages an urban micro-farm and beehive on their property to serve the local community and educate their students in environmental stewardship.

The rays of the October sun cast a soft, golden glow across the farm, warming the soil and illuminating every shade of leafy lettuce and kale green stretching through the rows. Nearby, children tumble about after a long day at school, unleashing the energy that has been bubbling inside them for hours. Their laughter blends with the hum of bees and insects, creating an easy harmony across the landscape. In many ways, the youthful energy mirrors the growth and vitality of the plants, pollinators, and people who make this land functional, thriving, and truly alive.

Nestled in the heart of Alton Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is the Bethlehem Center, known affectionately as “The Beth.” A 105-year-old community-based education and resource access organization, its quarter-acre urban farm serves as one of its most vibrant programs, a small yet powerful plot dedicated to improving food access for individuals who live nearby. 

Damon Bartos, Farm Coordinator & Education Specialist at The Bethlehem Center, holding a bee hive in Chattanooga, TN. Thursday, November 13th, 2025. (Photo By Mackenzie Sweat).

“Here in Alton Park, we have limited access to healthy foods. That’s where the Bethlehem Center is really trying to step in and make sure that we’re a source of groceries for folks, but you see it all over the city. For us, having a source of fresh, nutritious food, and shelf-stable items right here in the community where folks can walk in, bike in, or take the bus with a little more ease, can take some of the burden off and also the cost barrier for people who may need groceries,” said Lillian Moore, the Bethlehem Center’s director of community impact.

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Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Environment, outdoors, Philanthropy, Sustainability

Urban Understory

Written by Ansley Barry

Chattanooga Tree Project is a local nonprofit in Chattanooga, Tennessee, dedicated to planting trees in neighborhoods with low canopy coverage. Chris Winters (Director of Workforce), discuses the the team’s efforts of planting over 900 trees in the last year with the help of volunteers and the community. In the next four years, they plan to plant an additional 4,000 trees in the surrounding area.

In the sweltering summer heat, sweat drips down the necks of residents as they walk along the bustling streets of Chattanooga, Tennessee in search of shade. While some are able to find reprieve amongst the tree-lined paths, there are many areas around the city that are noticeably lacking these resources.

To address this problem, the City of Chattanooga was awarded a $6 million dollar grant from the United States Forest Service in April 2024 to fund the Chattanooga Tree Project (CTP). This project is dedicated to planting thousands of native tree species to increase canopy coverage across the city in neighborhoods that need them the most. 

Volunteers use pickaxes to break up the rocky soil in Ridgedale neighborhood. Saturday, November 8, 2025 (Photo by Corbin Winters).

“From start to finish, I’ve spent a lot of my time mapping forest loss, and the data has shown that over the years, we’re losing forests in Chattanooga,” said Mimi White, graduate research assistant for the UTC Interdisciplinary Geospatial Technologies (IGT) lab. “A lot of the trees that we’re planting, we’re planting in neighborhoods that have lost their tree cover a long time ago,… so it’s really beautiful to walk through a neighborhood in Chattanooga and see the new trees that have been planted and know that the people who live in these neighborhoods are going to be able to enjoy the benefits that come with having a healthy urban forest years down the road.”

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art, Chattanooga, community, Diversity, Healing, Prison, Uncategorized

Barber’s Redemption

Written by Angelina Fraga

Bryan Slayton removes the barber cape after giving Malik a fresh cut. Malik was excited to look nice for his approaching birthday. Wednesday, April 9, 2025. photo by Angelina Fraga.

There’s no striped pole or hydraulic kick leather chair. No sign posted on a door pertaining to hours of operation or holidays off. It’s just Bryan Slayton and his barber tools laid out on his mobile cart, plugged into the city’s power outlet. Slayton’s “clients” sit on a chair pulled from a park table.  On a good day, you can see people lined up waiting for a new do, sometimes not so many. Regardless, he stays from 8 am until noon, waiting to make someone’s day.

Slayton is a Chattanooga barber making a difference for those less fortunate in the community. You can find Slayton at Miller Park every Wednesday with his clippers and barber tools set up at his side.  He gives haircuts to anyone in need, they just walk up to his improvised office and ask. 

Slayon grew up in Chattanooga’s West Side projects and got his first pair of second-hand clippers for Christmas from his uncle when he was just ten years old. He mastered his craft through trial and error, but in the beginning it was only a side hustle.

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Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Diversity, Family, History, Love, Uncategorized

Chattanooga, the First National Park City in America

Written by Delaney Holman

Tim Kelly, Mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee, speaks about the city becoming the first National Park City in the Americas. Chattanooga earned the title on April 3rd, 2025, after over two years of community effort. Also called the “Scenic City,” Chattanooga is acclaimed for its access to the outdoors and rich history.

Deep in the Appalachian foothills, and along the Tennessee River, lies America’s only National Park City (NPC). A historically significant city tucked in the Tennessee Valley, home to over 100 parks and a community uniquely invested in outdoor culture, helped make Chattanooga, Tennessee, the third NPC in the world. Chattanooga earned the NPC title on April 3, 2025, just 55 years after being named the dirtiest city in the United States. 

In 2019, Daniel Raven-Ellison founded the NPC movement by establishing London as the first city to adopt the vision of building a new collective understanding of what a city is and who it is for. The National Park City Foundation combines long-term and large-scale versions of National Parks within cities. 

Abraham Mako rows by the Bluff View Art District on the Tennessee River during sunrise Wednesday, September 24, 2025 (Photo by Clara Paulson).

“That’s the whole idea behind the NPC campaign – locals working hard to protect, cherish, enjoy, and celebrate nature all around,” said Scott Martin, Chattanooga’s former administrator for the Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors.

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Chattanooga, community, Diversity, donate, Environment, outdoors, Philanthropy, reflection riding, Uncategorized

Growing for Change

Written by Ella Sole

Cash Daniels, a 16-year-old conservationist, offers insight into his efforts to clean up plastic waste by focusing on fishing line. With his initiative now operating in six states, Daniels has garnered national attention and accolades for his projects and hopes to continue raising awareness about plastic waste clean-up.

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.”

Cash Daniels shows off a jar of his collected fishing line. Throughout Cash Daniels’ conservation efforts, he collected over 2,200 miles of used fishing line. Thursday, October 15, 2025 (Photo by Corbin Winters).

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.

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Animals, Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Environment, Farm Life, farming, Food, horse, outdoors, Sustainability, Uncategorized

Fertile Land

Written by Zoie Denton

Melissa Shepherd, Head of Operations at Quail Run Farm in Chattanooga, Tennessee, speaks about how the farm uses regenerative practices and gives back to the soil. The animals contribute to the farm’s practices by rotationally grazing and naturally fertilizing the soil.

On the outskirts of Chattanooga, Tennessee, nestled in the mountains and valleys, lies 80 acres of rolling green pastures and bustling farm life. Quail Run Farm, one of Lookout Valley’s most well-known farms, is a living example of regenerative agriculture. Bought in October of 2022 by Joe and Rachel Riley, Quail Run has turned this beautiful countryside from a quiet homestead to a community-driven ecosystem of animals and hospitality. 

Melissa Shepherd, head of operations, sits at the on-site farmer’s market. Stored inside were products like farm-fresh honey, eggs, and meat. Tuesday, September 30, 2025. Photo by Angelina Fraga.

“There weren’t any animals here at the beginning,” said Melissa Shepherd, Head of Operations. The land has transformed into a vibrant working community. It offers pasture-raised meats, locally grown produce, and honey—all cultivated with sustainable, regenerative practices.

Shepherd is originally from Yorkshire, England, and joined Quail Run through a program called Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) while traveling through the US.

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Animals, Aquarium, Chattanooga, community, Environment, outdoors, Philanthropy, Sustainability

Saving the Laurel Dace

Written by Addison Middleton

Dr. Bernie Kuhajda, an Aquatic Conservation Biologist at the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute (TNACI), speaks about the critically endangered Laurel Dace. The small minnow is only found in three streams along Walden Ridge. TNACI rescued the last remaining population during a historical drought in the summer of 2024.

50 miles North of Chattanooga, a thumb-sized anomaly swims between the rocks and moss of the small streams on Walden Ridge. To the unknown eye, these fish, known as the Laurel Dace, could easily be overlooked or mistaken for any other small freshwater fish that is found in East Tennessee. The rarity of the fish doesn’t come only from their size and characteristics, but the extremely specific area they are found. Since their discovery in the 1950s, the Laurel Dace have only been found in one location in the world, Walden Ridge. 

The limited environment the Laurel Dace inhabit causes an extremely small population to begin with. In 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially listed the Laurel Dace as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). From first discovery, this species was found in only nine streams at Walden Ridge, but over the past 25 years, that number has shrunk drastically.  Over several decades, because of continued agriculture, dry seasons, and increased sedimentation, the Laurel Dace are now only seen having a healthy population in Bumbee Creek on Walden Ridge.

Once the fish were recognized as critically endangered, the Tennessee Aquarium and the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute (TNACI) stepped in and began their preservation efforts. Over time, the TNACI continued to keep a close eye on the Laurel Dace by studying their environments and behaviors. Several rescues have been conducted where teams would go to Bumbee Creek and take several fish into their care for further monitoring and research. Through their ongoing observations in the wild, the TNACI was also able to take fast action to save the Laurel Dace when circumstances became drastic.

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Animals, Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Entertainment, Family, History, horse, outdoors

Carriage Chronicles

Written by Emily Mitchell

David Faulkner, the lead driver for Chattanooga Horse Trams, speaks about his 26 years of experience driving carriages through downtown Chattanooga.

The distinct clip-clop of hooves is a sound all too familiar to residents of downtown Chattanooga. Nearby drivers wait patiently as a spotted horse named Dewey steadily hauls an oldfangled carriage into the flow of traffic. Atop a black leather bench, David Faulkner takes one hand off the reins to pet his beloved Dalmatian, Indiana, seated proudly beside him. As the carriage rolls down Broad Street, he directs the passengers’ attention to an allegedly “haunted” parking lot coming up on their right. In the midst of rushing vehicles and busy pedestrians, the elderly coach has managed to make a career out of slowing things down.

Faulkner never applied to become a part-time carriage driver—he was recruited by the horses. While working for a nearby parking company, he took notice of Chattanooga Horse Trams, a 39-year-old carriage ride service stationed outside of the Tennessee Aquarium. 

“After about three weekends of sneaking the horse treats, [the owner] asked me if I’d go to work for him,” Faulkner said. “I started the next weekend.”

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