This February, we hosted participants in our Environmental and Community Leaders Fellowship on Tremont’s campus for an immersive, 5-day experience. Fellows climbed mountains, caught salamanders, wrote songs, enjoyed s’mores, and planned an upcoming event to share their newfound knowledge with local elementary students. They got to experience the rushing Middle Prong after heavy rainfall, as well as the calm of a quiet night in the Smokies after park visitors have returned home.

One student, Elijah Roach, wrote a song about his experience:

Great Smoky Mountains rising up so high
Bringing me to a new world or taking me back in time.
I don’t know where I am, but I just feel like home –
I don’t know how to feel, but I never feel alone.

Walker Valley, river down the middle –
Middle Prong waters make me feel so little.
Smoky Mountains rising up so high
Almost make me feel like I could reach the sky.

Crystal water flowing so far down,
never fearing that oh-so-lovely sound.
Leaves are rustling, the flowers set to bloom,
Cold mountain air blowing away that gloom.

Walker Valley, river down the middle
Middle Prong waters make me feel so little.
Smoky Mountains rising up so high
Almost make me feel like I could reach the sky.

Fulton High School students apply to participate in the Environmental and Community Leaders Fellowship, a two-year commitment. Fellows work with Tremont staff at least once per month during the schoolyear, and are offered paid opportunities to intern with Tremont and the National Park Service during the summer. During their fellowship, students learn to notice and appreciate nature in everyday spaces, whether in an urban environment or a national park. They meet professionals in environmental and outdoor careers, and build leadership skills that they can take back to their Knoxville community.

Learn more about the Environmental and Community Leaders Fellowship, and make a gift to support this ongoing work.