One Creek at a Time

Hi, I’m Jace!

Jace was born and raised in a small community in Eastern Kentucky and attends Floyd Central High School in Floyd County, Kentucky. An athlete in baseball and football, he plans to attend a Kentucky college when he graduates.

My Story

Eastern Kentucky, located in the heart of the Appalachian mountains, is a treasure trove of native species of flora and fauna. Regional plants and animals are a source of livelihood and recreation to many community members. Since the late 1700s, our towns have been dug deep into the rigid valleys because that’s where people found water, fertile land, and coal (meaning jobs).

Due to regional flooding and a rise in litter and pollution, these natural resources (and the ecosystem that’s built around them) are threatened and there is an urgent need for community members to participate in the cleaning and restoration of our natural habitats. This is where my project comes in. 

My community clean ups will restore our environment, one creek at a time, and build a stronger community along the way. Many people outside of eastern KY only see what we don’t have – a scarcity of jobs because of decreased coal mining, drug use and its accompanying problems, and “hillbilly” stereotypes from popular media. But my project aims to serve the environment, the community, the native flora and fauna, and maybe, if you follow our stoy, dismantle a few negative stereotypes along the way. This project will show that we are a community of strength and love and while we can’t always control what happens to us (like the floods of 2022), we can control how we show up for others when help is needed.

My Project

I aim to a) build my team of community changemakers and b) raise the needed project funds February 2024 through April 2024. Our team will then run a school and community marketing campaign through April. Community clean ups will start in May and conclude in August, 2024 and will take place the first Saturday of each month. We will post monthly updates of our project and show photographs depicting the “before and after” of our campaign. We will then aim to replicate our One Creek at a Time clean up project by sharing with other eastern KY students and schools.