Cleaning Upstream: The Restoration of Grassy Branch Creek

Cleaning Upstream: The Restoration of Grassy Branch Creek
Produced by Jeffrey Barrie
Created by Ryan Scott
Directed by Jordan Young
The Duck River is the most biologically diverse river system on the continent. Winding through middle Tennessee, its waters are an essential resource for the surrounding communities that depend on the river for drinking water, recreation, and storm mitigation. But as the towns of Tennessee continue to develop, the Duck River faces ever-increasing threats to its health and stability. Human pollution, deforestation, and vicious erosion have been plaguing the river system for decades as biodiversity dwindles and water quality degrades.
Since 1999, volunteers and staff from the Tennessee Environmental Council - a nonprofit local to Nashville - have been putting in the work to save the river. Beginning along Grassy Branch Creek, a tributary that feeds the Duck River, the Tennessee Environmental Council has hosted innumerable creek clean-ups, planted rain gardens and pollinator habitat, reinforced the riverbank, and planted over 4,000 trees within the watershed. These continued efforts have resulted in a marked improvement in water quality, increased tree cover, and protected the Duck River for its communities and the environment alike.