Category: outdoors

Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Environment, History, outdoors, teachers

Ecliptic Education

Written by Taylor McKinley

Courtney Lewis, activity director for the Chattanooga Public Library, discusses what an eclipse is and why it is important for people to learn about it.

As the moon intercepts perfectly between the earth and the sun, casting a shadow, a solar eclipse brings individuals from all walks of life together, all pausing to gaze upward and witness history.

Over 200 patrons gathered around the Chattanooga Public Library on April 8, 2024 starting around 2:30 P.M. to witness the rare solar eclipse through Oreos, protective glasses and interactive games. 

“For this eclipse we really made sure that people know that they can get glasses here,” Courtney Lewis, Chattanooga Public Library activities director, said. “That we are going to be celebrating with them, so there are going to be a lot more people that have a central place where they can come do fun things and experience it in a safe place. “ 

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Chattanooga, Chattanooga Audubon Society, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Environment, outdoors, Sustainability

Responsible Recreation

Written by Maleah Holder

“All aboard!” Benny Braden, founder and former president of Responsible Stewardship tied his trash bags and tossed them on his jon boat as his volunteers shuffled back through the woods. The shoreline of Watts Bar Lake, previously covered in loose trash, old tires, and tangled fishing line, was near spotless after Braden and his team took on the challenge of collecting the debris. 

Responsible Stewardship is a non-profit organization that works with a volunteer base to remove trash from outdoor recreation spaces such as Watts Bar Lake to keep the space clean and family-friendly. Braden started his organization in August of 2022 working to clean up illegal dump sites and move them to landfills while recycling what he can. 

“That is something we are striving for in the next couple years to…recycle everything. We typically like to do zero added waste cleanups which means we use the barley bags and reusable gloves,” says Braden.

In just over a year of action, volunteers turned into ambassadors leading their own teams all over the country collecting trash and weighing it to report back to Braden. Recently, a new ambassador in Taiwan took it upon herself to collect trash overseas after being inspired by his work in the U.S. and has so far collected over 1,000 pounds by herself.

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Animals, Chattanooga, Chattanooga Audubon Society, Chattanooga outreach, community, donate, Environment, outdoors, Sustainability

Chasing Cranes

Written by Maleah Holder

A conversation with Jason Jackson about the migration of the Sandhill Cranes with a focus on the refuge and TWRA.

As the sun peaks over the horizon, lighting the waters of Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge, thousands of trumpeting birds flock to the sky. Standing at just over three feet tall, the loud Sandhill cranes were a species once locally extinct east of the Mississippi River before making a victorious comeback.

These unique red-headed cranes take up residence at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in Birchwood, Tennessee during the months of November through February for winter migration to feast on corn, wheat, and legumes planted by rangers along the river. 

The Sandhill cranes, though far from the only species to winter at the refuge, make up the majority of the avian population that roost along the waters of the Hiwassee River and have steadily grown in number in the nearly thirty years they have migrated there. 

Their unique appearance and success story have inspired a tight knit community. Locals from surrounding counties and an even larger population of photographers, birdwatchers, and storytellers alike are drawn in from across the nation for a chance to watch the cranes perform their sunrise spectacle. 

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Animals, Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, donate, Environment, Family, Food, Healing, Health, History, Love, outdoors, Philanthropy

Protecting Pets

Written by Olivia Smith

Alyssia Rich, left, trims Terri Greer’s dogs nails during a routine free pet food & supply delivery to a local neighborhood. Thursday, February 22, 2024. (Photo by Noah Camacho)

McKamey Animal Center is ten miles from Alton Park, one of the poorest zip codes in Tennessee. The Center is a thirty-minute drive but without other means of transportation, a three-and-a-half-hour walk, one way. 

During MAC C.A.R.E.S grand opening, Heather Hensley, the Community Solutions Manager at McKamey said, “Being at MetMin [Metropolitan Ministries] is such a big relief, we are closer to Alton Park and other populations that are looking for this assistance… We can spread the love so much better by being here with MetMin.”

In late January McKamey Animal Center and Metropolitan Ministries Impact Hub partnered to open MAC C.A.R.E.S Center. Located at 4001 Rossville Blvd., less than two miles from Alton Park. 

The grand opening being at noon, staff spent their morning giving pet supplies to people in need.

“More than half of MetMins clients have pets, they were already talking about this,” Hensley said. “As we were unloading food this morning people were coming to us, so we were giving it out.” 

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Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, outdoors, Sports

Chatt Town Skate Clinic

Written by Noah Camacho

Skateboard instructor Gray Joyce gives a run down of the Outdoor Chattanooga learn to skate clinic held in Chattanooga’s Chatt Town skate park.

Surrounded by ramps, rails, ledges, and skateboards, families gather to spend a couple of hours learning how to skateboard. Alongside trained instructors, beginner skateboarders learn the basics of skateboarding at the Learn to Skate Clinic. 

Outdoor Chattanooga hosts a learn-to-skateboard class at the Chatt Town skatepark in downtown Chattanooga. During this class, equipment is provided ranging from helmets to kneepads—and most importantly, skateboards.

The class was led by Gray Joyce and Patrick Sheel, local skateboarders who are highly skilled and have extensive skateboarding knowledge.

According to Joyce, beginners should start the class by having a group stretch, which is crucial in skateboarding as it mostly involves their legs. The skateboarders are then taught how to ride a board properly and how to find their center of gravity.

Learning to push and having good foot positioning during this sport is one of the most important things to learn as a beginner, and one must have a firm understanding of both of these before they can move onto bigger obstacles. 

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Animals, Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Family, Love, outdoors

Beyond Alpacas: Wildwood’s Hidden Gem

Written by Sammy Mckenzie

The Lewis Family poses for a portrait on their farm with their Alpacas. Monday, November 13, 2023. (Photo by Sammy Mckenzie)

In Wildwood, Georgia, 20 minutes from downtown Chattanooga, sits Rosie Mae’s Alpacas Farm, boutique, and coffee shop all wrapped up into one. 

The unique business is owned and operated solely by the Lewis family who embarked on this journey one year ago as of November 4th. The entire property was built by hand by Max Lewis with support from his wife Meagan and daughter Rosie Mae.  

“He started on the shop in January of 2021. He did it all himself, so it took a little while to get it done. So we actually didn’t open until November of 2022. Plus, processes were outrageous because of COVID,”  Meagan Lewis said.

While it was a slow start to open, as soon as the Lewis family welcomed the public on their property, the business took off and hasn’t slowed down since.

“So we opened the store on November 4th of 2022 and then our daughter Sparrow was born November 29th. So that has been crazy. Then we went viral in April of 2023 and then from there on out we have been just absolutely slammed,” said Lewis. 

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Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Healing, outdoors, Sports

From Fracture to Finish

Written by Noah Keur

Drew Fisher set off on the Sportsbarn Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. This race was his first official competition following his IRONMAN on September 24, 2023. Thursday, November 23, 2023.
(Photo by Noah Keur)

With the wound not fully healed from the surgery that put two screws in his ankle four months prior, Drew Fisher pulls himself off a bike and prepares for the final stretch of the Chattanooga IRONMAN triathlon. 

Only a 26.2-mile footrace to go… as if the 120 miles already covered wasn’t enough.

For some, the commitment to this grueling race stems from an unwavering drive to be in tip-top physical condition. Or maybe, they sign up for this race to give themselves something to work towards every day—a reason to get out of bed in the morning. There is a percentage of racers, though, who have another, seemingly more trivial reason to travel the distance it would take to get to Birmingham, Alabama in one day. 

“I was reading Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins before a football game in high school, and a coach asked me why I was reading that,” Fisher said. “I told him I wanted to run an IRONMAN. With no hesitation, he responded you’ll never do that. From then on, I just had to run one.” 

Those four words stuck in Fisher’s head for what seemed to him like an eternity. He was just 17 years old at the time—which meant it would be at least another year until he could prove his coach wrong, as you must be an adult to participate. Nevertheless, Fisher got to work. 

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art, Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Entertainment, Family, History, outdoors

What Goes Around: The Coolidge Park Carousel

Written by Caroline Colvin

The Coolidge Park Carousel makes rounds with its 52 hand-carved animals daily. Monday, April 17, 2023. (Photo by Caroline Colvin)

Settled in the heart of Chattanooga’s Northshore neighborhood is Coolidge Park’s antique carousel. For $1, those of all ages can ride the carousel, taking in its unique design. 

The carousel’s journey to Coolidge park began in Pennsylvania where it was constructed in 1894. Shortly after, it was transported to New York state. Many years later, following an unclear path of transportation, the carousel pieces were brought to Chattanooga by Bud Ellis to be restored. 

The Coolidge carousel is a Dentzel model, thus it follows much of the vintage designs of the famous German carousel builder, Gustav Dentzel. 

Bud Ellis was the owner of Chattanooga’s Horsin’ Around woodcarving school, which is now owned and operated by Larry Ridge. Ridge carves many animals himself, and also has a team and students that he teaches at the school. 

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art, Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, donate, Hugs, outdoors, Sustainability

Radical Public Service: The Chattanooga Urbanist Society

Editor’s Note: This article uses the pseudonym ‘Bill Johnson’ in place of the CUS founder’s actual name in order to maintain anonymity.

Written By Sarah Chesek

Bill Johnson of the Chattanooga Urbanist Society drops off a new bench at a bus stop on Main Street in Chattanooga, TN. Monday, February 20, 2023. (Photo By Seth Carpenter)

Anonymous. Urgent. Civic Action. Under no authority but their own citizenship, the Chattanooga Urbanist Society dropped off “illegal” benches and repaired bridge guardrails. Tired of watching the city’s infrastructure go unaddressed, the founder of CUS realized the cost of inaction—someone possibly falling–—was far worse than possibly being caught. 

“Chattanooga Urbanist Society is a group that exists to take direct action to protect and uphold the rights of pedestrians, cyclists, and make the public realm a better place to experience in Chattanooga,” stated Bill Johnson, founder of Chattanooga Urbanist Society.

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