Displaying items by tag: outdoor recreation

Weeklong paddling event highlights Tennessee RiverLine; registration open for June adventure

KNOXVILLE — Paddle Georgia, the renowned multi-day paddling adventure, is celebrating its 20^th anniversary with a historic first: an expedition along the Tennessee River, traveling through Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. More than 300 paddlers are expected to take part in the journey June 15-22, immersing themselves in the beauty, history and vibrant communities of the Tennessee River Valley. The event will highlight the Tennessee RiverLine, an initiative of University of Tennessee Extension that reframes the 652-mile Tennessee River as a continuous system of outdoor recreation experiences.

(Hellbender Press previously reported on the Tennessee RiverLine.)

The Tennessee RiverLine is assisting with trip planning resources for this milestone event, reinforcing its mission to transform the Tennessee River into a continuous system of outdoor recreation experiences and showcasing the river’s potential as a premier destination for adventure tourism.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Georgia Rivers on the 20th anniversary of Paddle Georgia and welcome them to the Tennessee RiverLine,” said Brad Collett, executive director of Tennessee RiverLine. “This journey exemplifies our shared commitment to connecting people with the river, fostering environmental stewardship and celebrating the natural and cultural heritage of the Tennessee River Valley. We look forward to working together to bring this transformative experience to life.”

The seven-day adventure will begin in Ringgold, Georgia, on the South Chickamauga Creek Water Trail, a narrow watercourse that flows beneath spectacular limestone bluffs, over playful rapids and (unusually) underground before emptying into the Tennessee River just east of Chattanooga.

Hellbender Press editor and publisher Thomas Fraser takes a break during a kayak run on the Pigeon River. A new study bolsters the idea that one way to turn people on to the importance of nature is to get them outside.  Jeremy Fraser/Hellbender Press

New research backs up conventional wisdom that getting people outdoors inspires them to conserve nature.

This story was originally published by The Revelator.

The natural world faces many threats, but to many environmentalists, none are so baffling and heartbreaking as public apathy toward those threats.

How do we get more people to care about the natural world so they’re moved to stand up and defend it? The answer is complex, of course, because humans are complex. But part of it can be found in a simple truth: Some people don’t care much about the natural world because they haven’t experienced nature directly.

For years experts have pointed to a potential solution: Getting people to spend more time in nature, they say, can help make them care more about threats to our environment and adopt more pro-environment behaviors. 

Outdoor Afro founder Rue Mapp.  Bethanie Hines via Revelator

Black people like nature, too. But you wouldn’t know it from looking at outdoor magazines before Outdoor Afro got started.

This story was originally published by The Revelator. There are Southeastern chapters of Outdoor Afro, including Knoxville.

If time and money weren’t an issue, what would you do?

That’s what Rue Mapp’s mentor asked her as she faced the completion of her college degree and an uncertain job market.

“I’d probably start a website to reconnect Black people to the outdoors,” Mapp replied, a story she recounts in her new book Nature Swagger. Soon after that she launched the blog Outdoor Afro, which began with stories of her own experiences in nature. It was inspired not just by her own love of the outdoors, but of a desire to increase the visibility of Black people enjoying those spaces.

WLOS: Mountain property owners wary of trail network between Sylva and Cherokee

Proponents of a proposal to build a high-elevation 35-mile multi-use trail system in Jackson County said it could further fuel growth in the area’s outdoor-recreation industry.

Some people who already own homes and property in the area abutting, for instance, Pinnacle Park in Sylva, fear an influx of strangers who would jam roads trying to access public lands owned by Sylva and Cherokee. Shocker.

The Nantahala Area Southern Offroad Bicycle Association is putting together a concept plan. The group says it would be the highest (3,500 feet) such trail network in the eastern United States.