Tennessee Aquarium visitors do a double take when they see boots, trash and fishing gear in this exhibit, located on the second floor of the Aquarium’s River Journey building.
As they get closer, they notice an odd collection of discarded items, trashy items that do not belong in the river but are often put there by people.
These items were donated by Greg Eiche, a volunteer diver for the Tennessee Aquarium. Eiche retrieved all of the items from the Tennessee River on various diving expeditions.
After these items — cell phones, old collector bottles, dentures, fishing line and plastics — were removed from the river and Aquarium staff made them safe before they were added to the exhibit that is home to bowfin, rock bass and small gar.
The exhibit draws attention to the problem of river pollution and encourages Aquarium visitors to protect the environment by disposing of trash properly and by participating in the annual Tennessee River Rescue, Christine Bock of the Aquarium staff said.
The Tennessee River Rescue is a community-wide cleanup of the Tennessee River and its tributaries that occurs on the first Saturday of October, this year Oct. 1st.
More info can be found at www.tennesseeriverrescue.com or by listening to the hotline number 785-4177.