Tennessee River Mussel Movement Initiative
Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful™ (KTnRB) is so proud to work with the University of Tennessee Dept. of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences in a first of its kind effort to protect one of the most crucial cornerstone species in the Tennessee River watershed: the mussel. Our friends at UT recently conducted a study that proved mussels not only filter out sediment and pollutants in the water, but microplastics! Given that microplastics often originate from littered items broken down in our waterways, supporting the mussel is directly in alignment with our mission!
Through the Tennessee River Mussel Movement Initiative, we are collaborating with a growing network of partners across the Tennessee River watershed to raise awareness for and actively protect the mussel in North America’s most biodiverse river system through several approaches:
Adopt a Mussel | Tennessee River Mussel Fest | Education Lectures | Mussel Inventory
Adopt a mussel
The goal in our Adopt a Mussel program is to help residents within the Tennessee River watershed fall in love with the freshwater mussel, a species critical to maintaining a thriving ecosystem. Adoptees will donate a fee to adopt juvenile mussels (donated from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency) that will be placed in silos similar to those pictured here and receive updates as the mussels are measured quarterly until they grow to a size that they will be more likely to thrive as they help to filter the waters of the Tennessee River watershed. More info is coming soon! Please complete this form if you’re interested in us reaching out when our Adopt a Mussel program launches in spring 2025!
Photo from Sturgeon Fest previously held at Seven Islands State Birding Park
Tennessee River mussel fest
We are thrilled to be collaborating with the UT Dept. of Earth, Environmental, & Planetary Sciences, Tennessee State Parks, Seven Islands State Birding Park, and many other partners, our first ever Tennessee River Mussel Fest will be held at Seven Islands State Birding Park on May 17, 2025. Some activities will include demonstration such as effect of mussels on dirty water in a fish tank, games like the Mussel Memory game, and interactive opportunities such as the Touch a Mussel station. At the end of the Mussel Fest, there will be a mussel release as well as placement of the first juvenile mussels in our Adopt a Mussel silos. More info coming very soon! Please email Jackson Dyke, Education & Outreach Coordinator, if you’re a vendor interested in hosting a booth or activity station at this innovative, first-ever festival within the Tennessee River watershed!
Education Lectures
With a new Education & Outreach Coordinator position, we at KTnRB are excited to soon be hosting education lectures at schools and to other organized youth group settings. Email Jackson Dyke, Education & Outreach Coordinator, if you have a student or youth group that would be interested in learning about the importance of the Tennessee River watershed and how we can help protect it!
Freshwater mussel inventory
With the rare opportunity of our KTnRB crew traveling to 40+ river shoreline cleanups a year across the 7-state Tennessee River watershed, we have the opportunity to document mussel shells that we discover along the way. We’re sharing a map of photos of mussel shells we find along the way with the UT Dept. of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences to identify the presence of different freshwater mussel species in the most biodiverse river system in North America.