NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Some of the images in this next story may be hard to watch, but they motivated one woman to do something to give back.
While enjoying nature in her neighborhood Sylvan Park... she found wildlife strangled and hurt by fishing wire.
News Channel 5's Amanda Roberts shows us how she's turning that distress into action.
“It as on just a routine walk… I noticed it just laying lifeless,” said Mackenzie LaRoe describing a Blue Heron.
“Its whole foot and ankle was tangled in fishing line, and it partially separated the ankle and had to become infected.”
This was the sight Mackenzie LaRoe says brought her to tears.
“It looked like it had been suffering a long time. It just sucks,” she said.
A lover of the outdoors, LaRoe says she and other neighbors found joy in spotting the Blue Heron on their walks and along the creek banks.
“Someone’s careless action took the life of this really meaningful special bird,” she said. “Anyone who is a sportsman knows you should clean up your line.”
In a matter of days, she organized a creek clean-up for March 1, 2025, in conjunction with the Cumberland River compact.
Dozens have already signed up to help.
“I felt like it was the best way it’s true to me and it’s also honoring the life of this beautiful bird,” LaRoe said.
She hopes to turn what was a tearful sight into meaningful change.
“That’s my whole ethos the community and bringing people together, but also helping all living things,” she said.
For more information, contact Mackenzie, Richland Creek’s “Adopt-A-Stream” Coordinator at mackenzielaroe@gmail.com.
If you have a story you believe needs attention, email me at amanda.roberts@newschannel5.com
