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ES! Initiatives (74)
EarthSolidarity!™ Initiatives are endeavors to which anyone can contribute in deed as well as in spirit, that
- minimize waste and environmental impacts
- increase community resilience
- respect and protect ecosystem processes and all forms of life
- contribute to good living conditions for everyone around the globe
- affirm and celebrate our interdependence and interrelatedness in the Web of Life!
A whopper caught on camera
WBIR: Man catches collosal fish on Cherokee Lake
To his immense credit, he released the fish.
More charges pending for Tennessee electric cars
Oak Ridger: More charges pending for electric vehicles in Tennessee
TDEC and TVA have partnered to ensure an electric charging station is available every 50 miles on major Tennessee roads and interstates.
Counting birds and taking names at Seven Islands
Written by Thomas Fraser
Tina Brouwer, left, and Ranger Clare Dattilo look for birds Jan. 3 at Seven Islands State Birding Park. Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press
Dozens join annual avian survey at Seven Islands State Birding Park
KODAK, TN — State park interpretive ranger Clare Dattilo led the group slowly but surely across the muddy winter landscape of Seven Islands State Birding Park, taking note of birdsong and investigating undulating flashes of quick color against the backdrop of green cedars and nude tree branches and grasses flattened by the weight of a recent snow.
Even in the dead of winter, woods and fields are filled with life.
The birding park hosted both trained ornithologists and casual birdwatchers to scope out species to include in the annual Audubon Society Christmas bird count. Dattilo was tallying her numbers with a couple of journalists and a long-time friend from college.
Bluff Mountain loomed to the east. The crest of the Smokies, in commanding view on clear days, was shrouded in freezing fog. Ring-billed seagulls flew high overhead while a couple of Carolina wrens chirped in the underbrush.
Bursts of bluebirds and cardinals yielded glimpses of color. Flycatchers and downy woodpeckers concentrated on their rhythmic work amidst the barren winter branches of the huge oaks, hickories and maples that spread across the ridges of the park and into its small hollows. White-tailed deer browsed silently, undeterred and seemingly and correctly unbothered by the birdwatchers.
Save the environment using your phone
Feb 9 7 p.m.
Community science: how you can save the environment using your phone
Mac Post, Ecosystem Ecologist Emeritus (ORNL)
Harvey Broome Group, Sierra Club
Zoom Meeting - Free and open to the public - RSVP
More details and required RSVP signup
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Oak Ridge reacetrack at Horizon Center
Feb 4 7–8:30 p.m.
Why We Oppose the Proposed Oak Ridge Motorsports Complex
Virginia Dale and Ellen Smith
Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation (AFORR)
Zoom Meeting - Free and open to the public - RSVP
The proposed racetrack would destroy natural assets that DOE committed to protect and adversely affect recreational users and nearby residents.
Sponsored by Oak Ridgers for Responsible Development (OR4RD), Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning (TCWP), and AFORR.
More details and required registration
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Help control invasive exotic plants at cedar barren
Mar 6 9 a.m.–noon
Spring Cedar Barren Cleanup / Weed Wrangle
Cedar barren next to Jefferson Middle School, Oak Ridge
Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning with City of Oak Ridge and State Natural Areas Division
Hands-on volunteer activity
Cedar Barrens — a habitat characteristic of our ecoregion — have become scarce in East Tennessee. They are reduced or eliminated by economic development and our rare native species specialized to live in them get overwhelmed by invasives.
For more information, contact Tim Bigelow at 865-607-6781 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Specifics subject to prevailing conditions at time of event. COVID-19 precautions will be observed.
Zoom in to biodiversity on the Oak Ridge Reservation
Mar 10 6 p.m.
Biodiversity on the Oak Ridge Reservation
Dr Evin Carter, Research Associate in the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation
Zoom Meeting - Free and open to the public
The Oak Ridge Reservation supports remarkable biodiversity, including species and ecological communities absent or uncommon in surrounding areas. The Reservation is home to 26 state-listed threatened and endangered plants, 20 federally and state-listed animal species, with appropriate habitat for additional listed wildlife species. It contains seven registered State Natural Areas and has been recognized as an International Biosphere Reserve. Dr. Carter will share his knowledge and amazing photos of the Reservation.
https://zoom.us/j/94589800994?pwd=aUZobzJScnJBSzAraE41VklQTWhpQT09
Meeting ID: 945 8980 0994
Passcode: 705330
One tap mobile:
+13126266799,,94589800994#,,,,*705330# US (Chicago)
+16468769923,,94589800994#,,,,*705330# US (New York)
Adventures in investigating Mars using places on Earth
Feb 26 noon–1 p.m. EST
Anna Szynkiewicz, Associate Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences
University of Tennessee Science Forum
Zoom Meeting - Free and open to the public - RSVP
Dr. Szynkiewicz will show how studies in Antarctica and New Mexico provide clues about past water activity on Mars.
After registering,
you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Chickamauga Lake cleanup
Mar 6 9 a.m.–1 p.m. EST
Cleanup at Chickamauga Lake of the Tennessee River
Possum's Creek, Harrison Bay State Park
Keep the TN River Beautiful with Chickamauga Fly, Bait, & Casting Club
Hands-on volunteer activity
Keep the TN River Beautiful coordinates with TVA, Keep TN Beautiful, TDOT, Keep America Beautiful, and Yamaha Rightwaters
For more information, call (865) 386-3926 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
How disease changes evolution
Mar 5 noon–1 p.m. EST
Epidemics, Societies, and Math: How disease changes animal, including human, evolution
Nina Fefferman, professor in the UT Departments of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Mathematics
University of Tennessee Science Forum
Zoom Meeting - Free and open to the public - RSVP
Learn how evolution, despite risks of infectious diseases, reaped benefits from social contact and group organization.
After registering,
you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Male sparrows sang sexier tunes during lockdown
Mar 12 noon–1 p.m. EST
Songbirds Changed Their Tune During the Pandemic
Elizabeth Derryberry, associate professor in the UT Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Tennessee Science Forum
Zoom Meeting - Free and open to the public - RSVP
Dr. Derrberry’s study of white-crowned sparrow songs during lockdown received nationwide attention.
With noise pollution from traffic cut in half, white-crowned sparrows sang more softly, using tones more attractive to females.
After registering,
you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Become a Volunteer Forester
Mar 24 6–8 p.m.
Volunteer Forester Certificate Level One
Learn how to properly plant, mulch and prune trees
Trees Knoxville
The class will combine video instruction, 4 weekly Zoom meetings (Mar 24, 31, Apr 7, 14), and one 2-hour field day at a local park for hands-on training, which will follow The Arbor Foundation Covid best practices guidelines.
Virtual Volunteer Forester Registration
Class cost is $25. More information and financial aid available on the registration site.
Knoxville Neighborhood Conference
All the virtual content remains accessible
through Apr 3
The City of Knoxville's virtual 2021 Neighborhood Conference
Yearly neighborhood-focused event to connect neighborhoods & strengthen communities
Brought to you by the City of Knoxville's Office of Neighborhood Empowerment, in collaboration with numerous city and county departments
Engage with our community through the Virtual Convention Center Platform — FREE but registration is required
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s conference will be virtual but will include all of the aspects of our in-person conference from the comfort of your own home. You will be able to attend workshops, hear remarks from Mayor Kincannon, visit information booths and more.
Conference details and registration
Open to everyone—neighborhood leaders, members and participants of neighborhood organizations and any city resident interested in the quality of life in Knoxville’s neighborhoods.
Integrating economics and ecology
Mar 26 10–11 a.m.
Integrating economics and ecology for seasonal migratory species conservation
Dr. Charles Sims
Howard H. Baker Jr Center for Public Policy
Baker Cafe Zoom Meeting - Free and open to the public
The Baker Cafe Series is an informal discussion about various topics. Guests are encouraged to ask questions that pertain to the topic and gain insight straight from the experts.
Species that migrate face different natural and anthropogenic threats than other species. Protecting migratory species poses unique policy challenges because survival depends on the migratory process's integrity through space and time.
Zoom meeting link
Register now for Drive Electric Earth Day event
Apr 10 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
Knoxville Electric Vehicle Association (KEVA), Ijams Nature Center, Drive Electric Tennessee (DET), East Tennessee Clean Fuels
Drive Electric Earth Day event in front of the Ijams Visitor Center
Owners of a variety of fully electric & plug-in electric vehicles will bring their cars, answer questions, and share their enthusiasm for driving electric.
Literature & information will be available, along with panel discussions on electric vehicle topics. Expected vehicles include: Tesla models 3, Y, S & X, Nissan Leaf, Chevy Bolt & Volt, Zero motorcycle, and Honda Insight (conversion). More will be added as details develop.
Free and open to the public but due to limited admission, advance registration is required
A series of short presentations/discussions will offer visitors a chance to learn more about specific topics such as EV benefits, tax rebates and purchase incentives, EVs coming in 2021-2022, batteries and charging, used EVs, and road trips.
Register now
COVID-19 safety restrictions will be followed for this event and masks will be required to enter the electric vehicle area.
More...
Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act webinar
Watch the webinar recording of
Apr 1 8 p.m.
Reintroduction of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Citizens' Climate Lobby
Zoom Meeting - Free and open to the public
Today the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2021 has been reintroduced into the House by Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL-22) and 28 original cosponsors. Tune in to learn the updates and details.
Choose your own adventure in Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness
Written by Tracy Haun Owens
Not all of the Knoxville Urban Wilderness is true wilderness, of course. This monoculture field of sunflowers planted at the Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area does, however, attract lots of wildlife. Courtesy Visit Knoxville
Spring study to quantify visitation, economic impact
“It’s something special for Knoxville and defines us as a recreational community,” said city Deputy Chief of Economic and Community Development Rebekah Jane Justice. She was named the city’s first Urban Wilderness Coordinator in July 2017, and is still the city’s go-to expert on this ambitious, ongoing land-preservation and recreational project. “It’s about so many things, including building our local economy in a unique way.”
Now that the Urban Wilderness is more established, actual numbers about usage are more easily captured than when Sims authored his paper. Matthew Kellogg of the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club said that his club received an equipment grant from the International Mountain Bicycling Association for trail-counter devices to quantify how many people use the trails — and where and when. Currently Kellogg’s group is calibrating 11 newly placed trail counters in the Urban Wilderness. By spring, the group hopes to be collecting reliable data.
Among the things this data will be used for is a multi-year study by University of Tennessee kinesiology and recreation professor Eugene Fitzhugh, a frequent lecturer about urban trails their impact on a community’s physical activity.