Water in Chattanooga isn’t always as clean as it could be, but water in some parts of the Caribbean is never clean, says Christine Bock.
“There are places on the Tennessee River where you can’t eat the fish you catch because the streams are not safe,” said Ms. Bock, lead horticulturist at the Tennessee Aquarium and Tennessee River Rescue coordinator.
She and other members of TenneSEA and Caribbean SEA — the SEA stands for Student Environmental Alliance — want to raise $20,000 to teach water testing to local students, who’ll take those techniques to other parts of Tennessee and the Caribbean.
Founded by local scientist Mary Beth Sutton, TenneSEA focuses on having clean water locally and the other on clean water in the Caribbean.
A beach party-themed fundraiser for the groups will be held from 7 to 11:30 p.m. Friday at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center. Funds raised also will be used to educate people and methods to prevent water contamination and how to improve water on Caribbean islands, organizers said.