Statements
Mission
TEC's Mission: Helping People and Communities Improve Our Environment
Tennessee Environmental Council (TEC) is working toward thriving habitats, a circular economy and climate balance in Tennessee. Our core programs encourage individuals, businesses and communities to Give Back to Nature in small ways like dedicating a piece of yard to native habitat, planting native trees, composting and recycling responsibly. Our theory of change is that simple choices and actions we make at home are the key to solving the greatest environmental challenges of our time. TEC's programs encourage sustainable practices at home, at work and within the community.
Community Recycling Roundup - TEC is hosting a series of 10 events from now to the end of 2023 across Tennessee where residents may drop off certain household items to be recycled free of charge.
Tennessee Tree Program encourages residents to plant native trees in their own yards.
Generate Some Buzz engages participants in planting pollinator habitat (flower gardens and native bushes and trees that support butterflies, bees and other pollinators) in their yards and communities.
Come, Post Your Compost engages individuals in backyard composting to keep food scraps out of Tennessee landfills and to enrich backyard gardens and native habitats.
Our Watershed Support Center engages local communities and volunteers in improving the water quality in their backyard streams.
Recycle Tennessee has reached hundreds of thousands of Tennessee residents with up-to-date information on the importance of recycling and how to do it correctly.
Sustainable Tennessee brings together stakeholders from across Tennessee to develop and implement game-plans for improving sustainability across all sectors of our economy and daily life.
Background
Tennessee Environmental Council was founded in 1970 as an umbrella organization that would tie together many different organizations with diverse, but common priorities into focused advocacy in the state legislature on behalf of Tennessee's environment. Those groups were the League of Women Voters, the Junior League of Nashville, the Tennessee Lung Association, the Tennessee Conservation League, the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs, and the Tennessee Botanical Gardens and Fine Arts Center (Cheekwood). We are just as enthusiastic today about taking care of the landscape we call home as we were upon our founding.
The Council has been successful in protecting the Great Smoky Mountains, cleaning up the Pigeon River, reducing pollution from coal-fired power plants, and preventing degradation of high quality streams in the globally significant Duck River Watershed. We have twice been awarded the Governor's Environmental Stewardship Award.
TEC's guiding principles include using natural resources, social and economic sciences to drive conservation and public health opportunities and activities. TEC utilizes trained volunteers in all aspects of its work and strives to include education/advocacy, practice/implementation, and policy components in all programs. TEC works in a collaborative framework with communities, industries, GO, and NGOs in promotion and implementation of long-term conservation opportunities.
Impact
Tennessee Tree Project:
The goal of the Tennessee Tree Project is to plant and care for one million native trees in Tennessee by the year 2025. Each year Tennessee Environmental Council organizes Tennessee Tree Day which provides locally sourced tree seedlings to residents of Tennessee. Since 2007, TEC has distributed 924,760 native tree seedlings with the help of over 50,000 volunteers. Follow up surveys have indicated survival rates of 85%. In 2018, 2019, 2020 the Tennessee Senate voted unanimously to pass a Resolution declaring March 24, 2018, March 23, 2019, and March 20, 2020 as 'Tennessee Tree Day', recognizing the significance of trees in Tennessee, and the value of our statewide planting event.
Generate Some Buzz (Tennessee Pollinator Project):
In recent years, public awareness about the decline in pollinators and their habitats has been widespread. Our Tennessee Pollinator Initiative increases both habitat and forage for indigenous pollinators by finding landowners willing to convert a portion of their properties into pollinator gardens. The vast majority of Tennessee is privately-owned land, presenting an enormous opportunity to engage landowners in converting mowed lawns into native pollinator habitat and helping to preserve North America's nearly 4,000 species of native bees and other pollinators, including hummingbirds and butterflies.
Watershed Support Center:
The goal of the Watershed Support Program is to clean up 20,000 miles of polluted streams in Tennessee. TEC watershed restoration professionals work directly in the streams, installing green infrastructure, planting native trees and grasses, and installing and maintaining rain gardens. TEC brings together landowners, municipalities, schools, community members and volunteers across the state to restore backyard creeks and streams. Since 2018, TEC has engaged with over 1,000 volunteers in hands-on restoration projects and environmental education. TEC's most recent successes are in Grassy Branch Creek (Maury County) a tributary to the ecologically significant Duck River.
Sustainable Tennessee:
Sustainable Tennessee is a conservation community that works collaboratively to advocate for conservation policies and practices in Tennessee. Each year, citizens, conservation groups, environmental policy experts, elected officials, and representatives of private businesses, industry, educational institutions and more convene for the Annual Policy & Practice Forums. To date, over 1000 individuals and 250 organizations have participated in drafting and implementing the Sustainable Tennessee Agenda which identifies priorities for a more Sustainable Tennessee.
Recycle Tennessee:
Community Recycling Roundup - TEC will be hosting a series of 10 events from now to the end of 2023 across Tennessee where residents may drop off certain household items to be recycled free of charge. TEC is providing this service as a way to help improve Tennessee's environment and communities, reduce litter/ illegal dumping, reduce our reliance on landfills and support Tennessee's recycling economy. This program is made possible by an environmental justice grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Come, Post Your Compost:
Come Post has engaged 1000 volunteers in backyard composting and diverting over 60 tons of food scraps from Tennessee landfills.
Tennessee Chestnut Project:
In November 2019, in partnership with The American Chestnut Foundation, five demonstration Chestnut groves were planted in five different Tennessee State Parks.
Needs
1.Continued Board Development: recruitment and increasing opportunities for board involvement and action.
2. Continued development of funding through major donors, foundations and corporate funding.
3. Program development
4. Improved administrative infrastructure
5. Engage tens of thousands of Tennesseans in sustainable living activities and practices such as recycling, backyard composting, ecological restoration, planting native trees, pollinator gardens, and rain gardens.
CEO Statement
Dear Council Members, Supporters & Friends,
It is a great honor to lead this organization during our 50th anniversary year! We are continuing to adapt and expand our programs to enable you to BE THE SOLUTION to the great environmental challenges of our day.
Today, I ask you to get involved in any of our programs that will enable you to make an immediate impact on improving our environment. Be sure to check out our website at tectn.org and reach out anytime if you have questions for me or any of our staff.
~ Jeffrey Barrie | Jeff@tectn.org
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Environment - Fund Raising & Fund Distribution |
| Secondary Category: | Community Improvement, Capacity Building - Community Improvement, Capacity Building N.E.C. |
| Tertiary Category: | Education - Educational Services |
Areas Served
We engage all 95 Tennessee counties in our program work. We also engage 11 surrounding states in our Tennessee Tree Day program, where individuals get native trees from TEC and plant them in their local county.
| TN |
