Tag Archives: environment

Local residents can dispose of household hazardous waste such as old and leftover automotive, home improvement and garden products for free at an event on Saturday in Sevierville. Household hazardous waste materials are those considered flammable, toxic, reactive and/or corrosive that should not be placed with regular garbage. The Extreme Household Cleanup Event will be held 8 a.m.–1 p.m. on ...

Each spring when the mountains turn green, Gatlinburg celebrates “Going Green” in a big way during the annual Earth Week Celebration held Monday, April 18 to Saturday, April 23, 2016. Gatlinburg dedicates an entire week to celebrate caring for the earth with events designed to share easy green practices through games, crafts and music, opportunities to get outside and maybe even get your ...

The City of Gatlinburg has scheduled Sparkle Days for April 4-8, 2016 and April 11-15, 2016. The 35-year-old program has been very successful in spurring Gatlinburg residents to clean up their property and homes in time for spring. During Sparkle Days, Gatlinburg’s Street Department will pick up, free of charge, items not normally included in garbage collection. Public Works Director ...

Registration for the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is opening soon. Wildflowers in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park have lain dormant as the winter’s wet, snowy, and cold weather persists. As the season changes, the warming sun heats the earth, awakening new growth to paint the landscape with a magnificent display of color. Southern migratory ...

In black ties and ball gowns, Friends of the Smokies gathered for an evening of elegance at Cherokee Country Club for the Evergreen Ball to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service and to raise more than $500,000 for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Evergreen Ball, now in its 13th year, featured a silent auction, wine auction, ...

Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies has added solar panels that started producing electricity in December of 2015. The panels were installed by Green Earth Solar and supply power for TVA’s renewable energy program, Green Power Providers. “As a Green Power participant, we are proud supporters of locally generated, renewable resources,” said Jay Bryan, director of Maintenance and Engineering for Ripley’s ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius Cash was presented with a $19,000 gift from the Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited as part of their continuing efforts to support the park’s fisheries program. The donation included two checks in the amount of $15,000 and another for $4,000 raised by the Little River Chapter at the 2015 Troutfest Banquet. The ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host several events for Bat Week, Oct. 25 – 31, 2015 to highlight the important role bats play in our ecosystem. Park rangers invite the public to visit bat information stations at Oconaluftee Visitor Center in North Carolina and Sugarlands Visitor Center in Tennessee from 2 to 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30. Bats ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park fire management officials are planning a series of controlled burns within the Cades Cove and Cataloochee areas of the park. Weather permitting, burn operations could begin as early as Monday, Oct. 26, 2015 and may continue intermittently through mid-November. Prescribed Burns in Cades Cove Fire managers have identified multiple fields totaling approximately 300 acres for ...

Recognizing its incredible diversity of stream life and years of efforts to conserve that diversity, the Little Tennessee River basin has been designated the nation’s first Native Fish Conservation Area. “The Native Fish Conservation Area designation reflects an integrated and cooperative approach to stream conservation,” said Trout Unlimited’s Damon Hearne. “We’re recognizing the importance of these streams to the region’s ...