Education and Outreach

As conservation advocates and experienced naturalists, EWC promotes various environmental programs and educational opportunities throughout the southeast. We also partner with non-profit organizations to assist with outreach activities including community cleanups and environmental education events. Opportunities that align with community-driven conservation efforts are particularly of interest to us as we understand the value in collaborating with others to meet a common goal of ensuring our environment is being considered and protected for future generations. Read more about these programs and our involvement below.

Tennessee Adopt-a-Highway Program

As we progress into the Anthropocene, methods of managing our waste and educating others on litter prevention awareness become more important. In Tennessee, littering is still an unfortunate issue despite having the infrastructure to manage waste and recyclables; however, there is always room for improvement.

Earthwhile Collective has partnered with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Adopt-A-Highway Program with an assigned highway located in Whites Creek (Davidson County) at Exit 40 off of Interstate 24 north of Nashville. This stretch also has a crossing at Little Creek where we also collect litter in and around the stream in the vicinity of the highway. At least four times a year we work along a 2-mile stretch along Old Hickory Blvd to gather left behind debris, some of which are kept for our creative endeavors. EWC recycles any items that meet the criteria, and repurpose other items we find into something creative or pass them along to our network of re-use artist. Other non-recyclable/ non-reusable items are collected by the TDOT highway crew once our cleanups are complete.

The mission of the Adopt-A-Highway Program is to keep Tennessee beautiful and boost litter prevention awareness throughout the state. Learn more about the program here.

Tennessee Naturalist Program

The state of Tennessee has a lot to offer within its diverse landscapes, with some of the most unique terrestrial and aquatic resources, all of which support some of the highest biological diversity within the southeast. Our own Angel Fowler volunteers as an instructor for the Tennessee Naturalist Program (TNP), which offers education courses designed to introduce citizens to Tennessee’s natural resources. The program also offers a Certified Tennessee Naturalist credential to those interested, and provides volunteer opportunities across the state through environmental education, citizen science, stewardship and/or administrative support for TNP. Click here to learn more about the program and how to become a Certified Tennessee Naturalist.

Wetland Environmental Learning Projects (WELP)

Even though our roots are in Tennessee, our level of involvement doesn’t stop there. We currently volunteer for Wetland Environmental Learning Projects (WELP), which is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization located in Alabama. The mission of WELP is to encourage good stewardship of the environment by using wetland development projects as education and exploration opportunities for the community. The organization offers several programs for both youth and veterans, and has served as an educational platform into additional opportunities. Through continued involvement we hope to help spread their mission and programs into additional southeastern states. You can learn more about the organization here.

Environmental stewardship

Environmental stewardship is our passion, and that carries over into our involvement with various other community engagement programs. We have participated in public school activities to share our knowledge about ecological restoration and sustainability, and have also volunteered in various stream cleanup and native vegetation planting events to promote environmental quality.

Public School Engagement

Community River Cleanups