Trust Your Wild Side

I am so proud to be featured in a new documentary. Please go check it out and let me know what you think!

Bill Dance!

If you know anything about Bass Fishing from the past 50+ years, you e probably heard the name, Bill Dance!

Bill Dance is a legend in the fishing world but also a great Tennessee native. Being from Tennessee and having spent a ton of time on the river, I knew this name. My whole family knows his name. My mom grew up watching him on television.

This week I had the honor of meeting this legend! Mr. Dance was presented with a resolution in his name in Nashville. I was invited and even got to be on the floor in the House of Representatives when he was honored. This is a day I’ll never forget!

He even signed my hat!

Pattrn & The Weather Channel

I love sharing my story and passion with others. Being able to do that with my documentary has been so fun! Check out my quick interview with Pattrn & The Weather Channel.

Tn State Parks partership

Last month, i has the opportunity to widen the range of my monofilament bin project. I joined TDEC & went to 9 state parks in west tennessee. Along the way, we setup and installed over 25 bins to collect fishing line. I got to see so much of the state that I am working so hard to help. I saw Bald Eagles, dear, cormorants, and so many more birds. Reelfoot Lake state park is actually a stop along the migration route of freshwater pelicans. How cool is that?

All the work I do is because I love our wildlife and our waterways. Together we can make a difference!

Rivers are Life

I have consistently said when I “grow up” I want to do photography & cinematography. I have been filmed several times and I love the process of sharing about conservation and wildlife. Cinematography is such an amazing way to share a message to a larger broader audience. Check out this new film I am in with Rivers are Life!

Earth Day!

Last week, we celebrated Earth Day. I’m not sure what you did but here’s a little glimpse into what my week looked like! First, I had to plan because I knew I was going to busy.

Tuesday, I went to my nearest national park which overlooks the Tennessee River. It’s such a beautiful spot to enjoy and see exactly what I’m fighting for.

Wednesday, I went to Arrowhead Resort in Spring city, Tennessee to place 4 monofilament bins. Spoke to their owner/manager and had a very productive meeting. Later in the day I did an interview about rivers and pollution with ABC news live.

Thursday, I placed another monofilament bin at Booker T. Washington state park. I also met with my local chapter of trout unlimited and am working with them to place 8-10 more monofilament bins in heavily fished areas.

Friday, I spoke to the biology and wildlife club at University of Tennessee Chattanooga (UTC) about my work and how every person can do something to improve the world around them for ourselves and our wildlife. After this, I went to CMC recycling which is where I recycle all of my aluminum to fund my monofilament project. (This turned out to be an awesome trip, my mom won a super cool griddle/grill after their guessing game)

Saturday was officially EARTH DAY! there was so much we could have done and joined on cleanups with other groups but by then I was pretty worn out so we went to another recycling center just to drop off a few bags of plastics for recycling then we did a family cleanup.

It was a busy week and things haven’t really slow brown and that’s ok. Keeping the motivation going to help keep our planet clean is exciting. I’ll post the link to the ABC interview below.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/earth-week-meet-teenager-helping-save-rivers-oceans-98699410

Cleanups!

So lately I have done several cleanups, alone and with others. Either way, I am making an impact and so can you. From 2 pounds to 20,000, every single piece and pound matter.

Environmental Grant

I am so excited to say I was awarded a grant from Tennessee American Water. This funding will further my monofilament recycling project. I am hoping to expand this project into more state parks and hopefully national parks!

If you know of a spot with a lot of fishing and discarded fishing line, let me know me I will try to add a monofilament bin and address this problem.

Shark Tournament

I’m a few weeks on July 9th, if nothing is done, there will be a trophy tournament in Jupiter, Florida for sharks.

Over 250 species of shark are labeled as endangered, critically endangered, vulnerable or data deficient. That means we don’t know enough about them to say whether or not they are at risk of extinction yet.

This is so disheartening to know that some of these species will be killed for sport. They will be slaughtered, and while on the brink of extinction, it’s legal. How does this make sense? It doesn’t.

Please hope by signing this petition to get this senseless killing stopped. Fishing for food is not a terrible thing but this is sport. This is completely unnecessary and sickening. Our planet depends on species like sharks to maintain a healthy ecosystem.

https://www.change.org/p/help-cancel-shark-killing-tournament-in-jupiter-florida

Tennessee Environmental Network Show of the South

Last week, I was invited to the Tennessee Environmental Network Show of the South by Commissioner Salyers with TDEC (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation).

This conference was attended by people in environmental and sustainability roles in large businesses, NGO’s, and government. Meeting and learning from these people was such an inspiring and uplifting because these are the people making real change in our state and region.

I was able to speak about recycling and NGO’s and how everyone can make a difference. We cannot rely on government entities to be the ones who care about our environment. It’s everyone’s job, including yours. What we do in a daily basis is what matters.

I met with not only local leaders but national leaders. People with the EPA know my name and my story. How amazing is that?!