The Basement Brain Trust

May 29, 2025 Maintenance Experts Bring Generating Unit Up to Peak Form In a basement conference room at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Shawnee Fossil Plant near Paducah, Kentucky, about 20 people cluster around a rectangle of tables. Fuzzy is there. And Skinny. And...

iSpy With My Little Eye

Jun 2, 2025 Outdoor Explorers Help Grow Species Database Canada geese, raucously honking, flew low over the Tennessee River in Knoxville. On the boardwalk nearby, a group of hikers searched for tiny plants clinging to the cliffside. Leaf cup plants soaked up the sun....

Bountiful Birds

May 8, 2025 Visit Spectacular Birdwatching Spots During Spring Migration Throughout the spring, millions – on some nights, billions – of birds soar unseen under the stars on their annual migrations north. People can spot them during the day as birds rest and feast...

River Restoration

May 9, 2025 Farmers and TVA Use Trees to Aid in Flood Control On the banks of Sugar Creek in south-central Tennessee, pastures rippled in the stiff wind. The scent of gust-carried dust and the spice of springtime plants steeped the air. But the stars of the show were...

Cicada Cycles Benefit Valley Region

May 14, 2025 New Brood of Time-Keeping Insects Emerging But have no fear. These red-eyed bumbling insects aren’t dangerous to people, pets or crops. In fact, they’re tasty to wildlife and fish, who feast on their crunchy exoskeletons by the millions. And they’re part...