Hellbender Heroes 24- 25

This year, as a part of our RootEd grant, my Rosman Elementary School’s 5th graders are launching a project dedicated to raising awareness and supporting the conservation of the hellbender salamander, a unique and endangered species native to western North Carolina’s rivers. Due to Hurricane Helene, their population is declining even more. Students will read and learn all about the ecosystem standards as they work with local wildlife biologists to create awareness materials that will bring awareness to help protect the local hellbender population. This project offers a unique opportunity for students to engage with a local environmental issue and contribute to real-world conservation efforts. 

The Problem: The Hellbender Population is Declining - More Urgent after Hurricane Helene

There are an estimated 219 surviving (but declining) hellbender populations left in the US, of which 225 have already died.

Because long-lived species are slow to recover, immediate conservation measures may be required to ensure the recovery of this species. (Hellbenders can live for over 25 years in the wild!)

What can we do?

We learned that the Fish and Wildlife Service had posted a proposal at https://www.regulations.gov/  to get Endangered and Threatened Species: Status for Eastern Hellbender. So what did we do? We researched and made public comments to help with the effort! See our posts here:

Public Comments Link 1 Public Comments Link 2    

Students again designed and printed FREE hellbender stickers to give to people in order to:

• Encourage people not to move any rocks they find in the river. (Hellbenders make their homes and lay their eggs under these rocks)

• Report any hellbender sightings to the NC Wildlife Commission (Share the location, a photo if possible, and any other details with Lori.Williams@ncwildlife.org. People can also call the Wildlife Commission’s NC Wildlife Helpline, 866-318-2401, and provide details of the observation)

Students shared stickers at The 2025 RootEd Community Learning Expo, Headwater Outfitters, and at The 2025 TCS Thirty-Sixth Annual A. Mickey Church STEAM Expo.

***We would like to thank The TCS Educational Foundation Creative Classroom Grants and a generous gift card donation on DonorsChoose from Tammy Zukowski, which made the creation of our stickers possible.***

Freshwater Illustrators

We were so lucky to have Jeremy Monroe of Freshwaters Illustrated come again to show us his film, Hidden Rivers. We gained valuable knowledge about the beauty and vulnerability of these ecosystems. This year's students again love his  The Last Dragons film (which we keep rewatching).  Mr. Monroe brought along Casper Cox who is featured in the Hidden Rivers film. He donated and signed a copy of his book Snorkeling Hidden Rivers Southern Appalachia: A Photographic Snorkel Guide to Sites, Species, & Gear (see below).

The Chatanooga Zoo

The students have been invited by the Zoo’s Director of Education, Anne Krichten, from The Chatanooga Zoo, to help with Salamander Saturday, on May 3rd, 2025, by designing activities, labs, and materials that will teach other children about the Science ecosystem standards and how they relate to salamanders. We are creating hellbender-themed color-your-own bookmarks and stickers, a life-cycle puzzle, and a card game. Please see the links to the first draft of our materials below before we send them off to a graphic designer for editing. 

• Bookmarks

• Stickers

• Life-Cycle Puzzle

• Card Game 

Final Products:

Snorkel Expedition

To conclude our Hellbender Conservation Project, students participated in a field study and snorkel expedition to observe hellbenders in their natural habitat. 

***We would like to thank North Carolina Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission for awarding us a GO Grant to make this possible.***