Bringing useful skills to the Pascagoula River Audubon Center

The Pascagoula River Audubon Center provides a way to experience and learn about nature right in our own backyard.

Now, they’re getting a little help from an intern who traveled across the country to be here.

Growing up in Mississippi, David Jackson spent most of his time outdoors admiring nature. “I grew up as a little kid in a canoe with my dad on the Leaf River.”

Now, David lives in Reno, Nevada and works for Patagonia Clothing and Gear. Through his job, he’s spending a few weeks interning at the Pascagoula River Audubon Center doing an environmental impact photography project. “I will be going up into the smaller tributaries, as far north as Jackson and Meridian, and taking pictures of the small river systems that are the headwaters of the Pascagoula so people can see what they may not be willing to drive to.”

This project will highlight how smaller tributaries contribute to the last free-flowing river in the United States. The goal of this project is to help others understand how smaller rivers affect the whole. “The Pascagoula River water shed is one of the last undammed water sheds in the U.S. It is the largest undammed water shed in the continental U.S. That means that is no dams, no structures that impede flow, which makes it incredibly unique. Sturgeon can still spawn up river as far as Meridian.”

Jackson tells News 25 during his travel around the state, he’s found some pretty good news regarding our rivers. “I’ll take water samples as well to see if there is any large impact from different tributaries by us in different parts by farming or residential areas or other things like that. So far the handful of rivers that I have been to and tested are incredibly clean which is good to see.”

To learn more about David’s project and get a sneak peek of his photography, head over to the Audubon Center on Saturday, November 16^th from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.