Ivy Academy students presenting Once Upon a Hemlock.
Ivy Academy will welcome 2014 Tennessee Environmental Conference guests with an informative skit called, Once Upon a Hemlock, an adaptation of the children’s book written by Jimmie Walters and Lisa Starr of Save Georgia’s Hemlocks. This story tells of a majestic hemlock through the eyes of a child, and parallels protecting and preserving the hemlock to protecting and preserving natural resources in Tennessee.
Jan Compton, manger of the Office of Sustainable Practices at Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said of Ivy Academy, “The executive committee of the Tennessee Environmental Conference is so pleased to have Ivy Academy participating this year. We were able to meet them when they were in Knoxville for the Eastman Good Sports Always Recycle Contest and we knew that they would do an incredible job in portraying environmental excellence.”
Noah Lane, Ivy Academy senior who manages the school’s hemlock preservation project stated, “We are excited to raise awareness about the threat to hemlocks in this region and are hosting a workshop on our campus on April 27, to teach residents how to treat their trees.
Those interested in learning how to treat hemlocks to protect them from the wooly adelgid, or interested in booking the skit for a performance at their school or organization can contact FEEA@ivyacademychattanooga.com.”
Environmental industry representatives from across the state are in attendance this week in Kingsport with the Ivy Academy delegation. Included is Dana Vaughn, sustainability specialist with TVA who is considering Ivy Academy for an environmental education spotlight school in the state of Tennessee. Teresa Shaffer of Eastman Chemical will also be in attendance. Ivy Academy was chosen by Eastman Chemical to receive Tennessee’s Sustainability Steward Award for 2013.
Ivy Academy is an environmental charter school that sits at the mouth of the North Chickamauga Creek Gorge in Soddy Daisy. The local wildlife, trails, and creeks play a role in the academic experience for the school’s grade 9-12 students. Ivy Academy places an emphasis on outdoor education and project based learning.