Sarah's Path: A Labor of Love When Smyrna Elementary School parent Michael Streger was first consulted about a memorial garden at the school in 2016, he had no idea it was the beginning of a years-long labor of love. Over the past six years, Streger, along with other Smyrna Elementary School parents, students, staff, and the family of beloved speech pathologist Sarah Lowder, have b...

This past April, Carl (AKA Lindy) and Eva Tackett graciously hosted guests of the Smyrna Art & Garden Tour in their yard to experience firsthand the beauty and benefits of native plants. At the tour, Eva Tackett shared printed copies of her story, which has been adapted for this blog in hopes that it will prove a useful resource for others who want to make better choices to support o...

Meet Ron and Lisa “We’ve been happily volunteering for twenty-seven years,” says Keep Smyrna Beautiful Adopt-a-Mile volunteer Lisa Brillhart, “and hope to continue for many more.” Shortly after they moved to their home on Concord Road in 1992, Lisa and her husband Ron saw a cleanup in action and decided it was a good way to get involved in their community. The Brillharts clea...

Since Laura Zhiss and her family moved to Smyrna from Mableton almost a year and a half ago, they’ve been bringing their recycling to the Smyrna Recycling Center. They recycle because, she says, “As a parent, I’m getting worried about the future of the planet for my kids.” And in fact, recycling does make a difference. It reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills. This cau...

In a previous blog post, I discussed some of the negative results of monocultures. You can read that, here. In this reading, I wanted to further expand on a specific issue I had only briefly mentioned previously. Monocultures bring issues to their local environment, but those don’t stop at the farm. This Water Quality Month, I wanted to bring awareness to The Dead Zone, one of the most...