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Earth Day celebration flyer
Science club Project Endeavor, a team of nature enthusiasts and student volunteers at Swain County High School have organized a free Earth Day Celebration to be held Saturday, April 17 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Swain County High School Football Stadium.
The event welcomes special speakers, Dr. Graham Reynolds and Branson Messer.
Reynolds was recently named a National Geographic Explorer, and he has co-described a new species of boa in the Caribbean.
Messer is a physicist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and he is distinguished as a Director of Science at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility at ORNL.
The event will also welcome booths from other local environmental organizations and activities for kids.
Phoebe Carnes, Swain High student and organizer of the event, answered the following questions from SMT editor
Jessica Webb by email.
How did the idea come about to organize an event like this?
The idea for the Earth Day Celebration came to me last year. I was in a science club known as Project Endeavor, and we had recently gotten enough money to pay for a wildlife program to come to Swain County High School. One of the teachers in charge of Project Endeavor asked if any of us wanted to help organize the program, and I stepped up to the plate. I have wanted to do something for Earth Day for years, and after a lot of brainstorming and discussion, we decided to blend the wildlife program with an Earth Day Celebration and open it up to not only students but the public as well.
Tell me more about the student group who is organizing the event?
We’re a small team of nature enthusiasts and student volunteers. For us, this is not only a chance to grow as leaders but also explore our passions in wildlife and the natural world, while also offering an opportunity for the public to learn and be inspired.
Why do you feel it is imperative to raise awareness and interest in conservation and Earth Day?
For me, it’s all about inspiring people to make a change for the benefit of our planet. Recent studies by groups like the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) show that we have lost over two-thirds of our planet’s wildlife populations in the past 50 years, rates that are close to that of the K-T mass extinction (the event that killed the dinosaurs).
Earth is currently in a fragile state, and we are facing a biodiversity crisis. Action is needed if we hope to save what flora and fauna we have left.
Earth Day is a perfect opportunity for people to learn how to do just that. Making small changes in your day-to-day life, such as using less water or recycling plastics, can make a huge difference. After all, conservation is not about one person doing it perfectly but many people doing it imperfectly.
The more the public learns about our natural world and its many wonders, the more they will be motivated and inspired to try and make a change to protect it. If, for example, a thousand people decide to not throw their water bottle in the trash but instead reuse it, that’s a thousand plastic bottles that won’t end up in the ocean. It may seem small in the moment, but it adds up, and that’s one of the most vital mindsets we can have when it comes to conservation.
You’ve organized a couple of impressive speakers for the event. Would you like to say anything about them and how exciting it is to be bringing them to Swain High?
We’re incredibly lucky to have two renowned scientists attending our event, Dr. Graham Reynolds and Branson Messer.
Dr. Reynolds was recently named a National Geographic Explorer, and he has co-described a new species of boa in the Caribbean (the Conception Bank Silver Boa), rediscovered another species of snake thought to be extinct (the Crooked-Acklins Boa), and now works at UNCA, where he studies modern genetic analysis of reptiles and amphibians. He was also a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University from 2014-2016, and he was the co-editor of two books, “The Amphibians of Tennessee” and “The Reptiles of Tennessee.”
Bronson Messer is a physicist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and he is distinguished as a Director of Science at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility at ORNL. He primarily researches explosion mechanisms and phenomenology of supernovae, and he is especially interested in neutrino transport and signatures, dense matter physics, and the details of turbulent nuclear combustion.
It’s amazing to have such brilliant minds attending our event and setting up tables to educate the public about their respective fields. Along with both of these accomplished scientists, we will have other conservationists and environmentalists in attendance, including Mainspring Conservation Trust and Swain County Soil and Water, as well as some vendors and artists wanting to sell their crafts.
Tell me about what’s planned for younger student activities at the event?
It was important for us to include activities for younger kids at the Earth Day Celebration, as we want the event to be open to all ages. We will have a kite activity by NASA, where kids will be able to craft and fly their own kites. NASA will also have a weather sock craft, and science teachers will help with a few other hands-on activities, such as painting rocks and planting seeds. It’s certainly been a challenge to come up with pandemic-friendly crafts, but I believe that we have something for everyone at our event!
Swain County, being located in the Southern Appalachian Mountains and with so many parks including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in its borders, has a lot to offer in the local flora and fauna. How does this tie into what you have planned for Saturday and also in your interest in conservation?
The Great Smoky Mountains is a land of incredible biodiversity. There are over 19,000 species of flora and fauna in the park, making it the most biodiverse national park in the nation. We are the Salamander Capital of the World, and some of the over 30 species that call our cool streams and lush forests home can only be found within our mountains. However, the Smokies is also a vital habitat for threatened species. For instance, the Smoky Madtom is an endangered species of catfish native only to the Smokies. They are a secretive and rare fish, burying themselves under gravel during the daylight hours before emerging to feast on a variety of invertebrates and smaller fish at night. The Smoky Madtom lives in specific rapids and pools of water, which makes it all the more difficult to properly conserve them. While the Smoky Madtom has an unsure future, there are conservation stories in the Mountains that have been wildly successful.
Take, for example, the reintroduction of Manitoban Elk. After being missing from the Smokies for nearly two centuries, herds of 25 and 27 were brought to the park in 2001 and 2002, respectively, and released into Cataloochee Valley. The elk were quick to adapt to the new environment, and the herd has grown significantly in the past two decades, so much so that it is considered one of the most successful conservation projects the park has ever done.
Over the past year, I have begun my own studies with the elk herd at Oconaluftee, and they have taught me many lessons in family, bravery and perseverance. It’s incredible to have the opportunity to spend so much time with animals that, only half a century ago, were missing from our mountains. Unfortunately, not all creatures are as lucky to be as beloved as elk.
Endangered species of reptiles and amphibians rarely get any spotlight, and this makes it more difficult to get people to truly care about the survival of these unique animals. Without the public’s support, it becomes harder to put proper protections in place.
My interest in conservation comes from the deep love and appreciation I have for every creature on our planet, from the largest whale in the sea to the smallest ant in the desert.
The goal for Earth Day is to help people realize how amazing our biodiversity is, not only in the Smokies but also on our planet as a whole. If you are dedicated to saving one species, then you must also be dedicated to saving the others, as every species relies on one another in some way. Nature is a delicate balance that we must preserve, and we can only do that through education and passion.
Anything else you want to add?
Our Earth Day Celebration has one goal, to inspire. In a time when our planet is in its most fragile state, it’s imperative that we do everything we can to protect it. This celebration gives people a chance to learn about our Earth from a diverse array of perspectives and, hopefully, become inspired to save it.