It’s one of those days on Lookout Mountain-the kind that makes you want to pull the covers over your head and hibernate. But in the cold, mist of a Saturday morning, five teenagers work steadily clearing brush along Old Wauhatchie Pike. What’s more, they actually want to be there, laughing and joking as they rake, weed and roll logs.
Derrica Hampton, 17. “Everybody standing here, we all get along. We work together because the work we do you can’t necessarily do it by yourself. It’s more like a second family.”
The close-knit team is part of The Howard Program-the result of a remarkable partnership between Lookout Mountain Conservancy and Howard High School. What started as a few volunteer workdays with students who hardly knew each other’s names has morphed into more than anyone could imagine. “It’s been an incredible transformation,” says LMC CEO Robyn Carlton. “There’s been improvement in grades and disciplinary issues. I have teachers tell me that when they watch a kid walk down the hall, they can tell if they’re in our program based on the way they carry themselves.”
It all started when the Conservancy applied for a grant from the Water Department to clear a ravine near John C. Wilson Park at the foot of Lookout. In the late 1800s it was a waterway carrying runoff into the Tennessee River, but trash and overgrowth have long since clogged it. Knowing Howard High School was looking for student volunteer opportunities, the Water Department paired the organizations together.
Last fall, Howard science teachers asked students if they would be willing to help LMC clear some of its land. The kids had no idea what to expect, but the field trip promised free food and a chance to miss school, so several hands went up. It was the first time most had been exposed to nature, although the majority live less than a mile from the foot of Lookout. In fact, 49 out of 50 volunteers had never set foot on the other side of Broad Street.