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Press Release

Date: 09/04/00

The oversized van groans as it heads up the mountain through switchbacks and hairpin twists and turns. It seems, at times, as if we could reach out and touch the cerulean blue of the sky as the tops of the trees already appear to do. When the road reaches its apex, the valley opens below us - a bowl, self-contained, trimmed in green and gray and tinted with the pastels of spring. Shady Valley is on the top of our world and a lovely renewal each time we see the land from that vantage point. We stop briefly at the country store and venture off to find Charles McQueen, Preserve Manager of The Nature Conservancy sites. The students unpack lunches, tools and jackets and set to work as the gurgling water watches from the ancient beds of the crystalline pools.

For the past several years, East Tennessee State University and The Nature Conservancy at Shady Valley have had a sustained partnership. Each semester students in Service-Learning courses and Americorps programs climb the mountain to aid their environment. Under the tutelage of Dr. Tom Coates of the Physical Education, Exercise and Sports Sciences (PEXS) Department and Joyce Duncan, instructor of Service-Learning in the Department of Philosophy and Humanities, students build bridges, ramps and split-rail fences, plant trees and shovel gravel. Even though drizzle persists throughout the day or the morning chill never quite wears off, a spirit of camaraderie reduces complaint and laughter often drowns out the songbirds and the chain saw. Each student learns while having fun and providing needed person power for the sustainability of the site.

PEXS students frequently see their future entwined with local, state or national parks and recreation programs; Service-Learning students often view nature as a sanctuary to be protected or have an interest in pursuing a degree in environmental issues. Through the partnership, students discover the history, geography and geology of their region and learn proper techniques for conservation in addition to the more practical skills of driving a nail, operating a drill or centering a bridge. For The Nature Conservancy, willing students enable the work to go forward at a more rapid pace while educating a new generation about the value of protecting the natural beauty of their world. It is a perfect match and a win-win proposition.