More to the Story with Staley: Ivy Academy 5K

SODDY DAISY, Tenn. (WDEF) — Earth Day is an annual affair here in America Every April 22. That means this coming Saturday! And it’s even more meaningful this time around for one charter school in Soddy Daisy!

Saturday’s the big day for Ivy Academy! Teachers and students at the school in Soddy Daisy are getting ready for the annual Cumberland Trail Spring Festival.

It’s not only a fundraiser, but a celebration of our environment, and our outdoor recreation. All things nature!

Ansley Eichhorn is the Director of Communications for Ivy Academy.

“The festival really drums up a lot of excitement for what we do here,” she said. “It opens things up for those who come. All of us look at it as a celebration of environmental education.”

Since the festival actually falls on Earth Day this year, Ivy Academy is partnering with “Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful” for a community-wide cleanup effort. It’s an affair that removes a lot of trash from the roads and open areas.

And, as always, the festival features the “Running with Sasquatch 5K.” It’s open to all ages.

There’ll be a number of Sasquatches on the 5K trail. The goal is to “whoop sass.” Fun for all involved? Yessir!

Emma Beach is an Agricultural Education Specialist.

“I see a surge of excitement around here,” Beach said. “This is also testing season. So it’s nice to come outside and make the campus look beautiful. We have a lot of buy-in from the kids, which is very nice.”

“We have a lot of kids who run with their families,” said agriculture and science teacher Sammi Stoklosa. “We want it to be as fun as possible. We have some who are competitive, but we have some who are just having fun and enjoying the day!”

The 5K will be run in the North Chickamauga Creek Gorge. But there’ll also be guides on hand, vendors and live music.

Ivy Academy has done this for a number of years. So, there are few surprises.

“We’ve done this for awhile, so we’re a well oiled machine,” Beach said. “We basically go with the flow, and that’s the theme. It’s very telling.”

Registration for the 5K begins early Saturday morning. The race starts at 9 a.m.