2025 Teens Dream - RiverLines

My dream is that not only humans would have clean, safe, freshwater but that wildlife would too.

With less than three percent of the Earth’s water supply being fresh water, it is a vital resource that must be protected. I focus on reducing and managing plastics in our waterways in a totally new way. I address improperly managed fishing line & fishing gear, which are commonly overlooked.

We cannot live and flourish without freshwater. We cannot live without healthy freshwater, PERIOD. Every living being is directly affected but our rivers and oceans. The ocean provides the planet with over 70% of the oxygen we desperately rely on for life as we know it. The ocean is also a huge carbon sink. The rate climate change is going, we can no longer ignore the importance of water on the globe. Less than three percent of all water on Earth is freshwater and two percent of that is locked underground or in ice caps. Freshwater is vital to all life and it can no longer be taken for granted as an unlimited resource.

I work with the Tennessee State Parks to place fishing line bins along our waterways to reduce and prevent wildlife entanglement as there are more than 300,000 birds entangled in fishing line annually. Improperly discarded fishing gear is the number one killer of sea turtles yearly. To address this, I have placed over 160 fishing line bins in 26 state parks and other boat ramps across Tennessee.  This collected fishing line is melted down and made into fish habitats. Now something that could potentially harm our freshwater ecosystems and wildlife, is now giving back to improve it. To date, I have recycled over 5,000 miles of fishing line. This is not only a wildlife issue but a human one as well. The Tennessee River supplies over 5 million people with drinking water. This river also, at one time, tested higher for micro plastics than any other river on the world. While it no longer holds this title, this river is still at risk of pollution from plastics and PFAS.

I believe this is something that can be replicated in other communities to reduce plastic waste in communities across the country and the globe. I do know these monofilament bins are sparsely dispersed around coastlines but considering inland rivers, creeks and streams are so polluted, I believe we need to focus upstream and stop pollution at its source. Together, with education, we can make a difference. This has been an amazing experience to date and I plan to keep pushing forward for a better planet on a daily basis.