Two remarkable young men are working to heal our environment. Tyler Lott, 20, of Ambrose and Chris Adams, 19, of West Green are passionate about the native wildlife of Georgia and about the environment in which we all work and live.
Mr. Lott is the businessman: “We just go around the State of Georgia and teach people about native wildlife that they can see outside their homes, and basically for them to understand what animals live around them and how to identify them. We mainly use reptiles and amphibians such as snakes and turtles in our shows and we’re permitted through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to do so.”
They like to use snakes in their shows because people tend to be so fearful of snakes. They hope through education to allay those fears. Adams & Lott Full Circle Outdoors performs exhibitions at fairs, festivals, birthday parties, and expos. Wherever people gather and want to learn about Georgia wildlife. Mr. Lott goes on to say that, “Every animal has a niche or a role that it plays in the ecosystem.” If these animals are needlessly killed then they are no longer able to fulfill their natural role.
Adams & Lott Full Circle Outdoors is a business and Tyler Lott and Chris Adams are the youngest licensed wildlife educators in Georgia. But they are concerned with more than just the business of education. Chris Adams asks the question, “How do you focus on wildlife if you don’t focus on habitat?”
Keeping Coffee Green is a conservation organization that they have formed. They are in the process of applying for 501(c)(3) non-profit status. This will allow them to take donations which will provide for things like trash bags, transportation, and advertising to inform the community of opportunities to volunteer. Donations can also go towards publication of the Georgia reptile and amphibian field guide which Mr. Lott penned at the tender age of 16. Donors will be able to designate to which of the organization’s endeavors they wish to contribute.
They are taking a hands on approach to keeping Douglas and Coffee County clean. Keeping Coffee Green has a board of directors and has conducted its inaugural conservation event. That event took place on April 1. Mr. Lott and Mr. Adams feel that it was a great success. Nearly 50 volunteers covered five acres adjacent Twenty Mile Creek. They collected 143 bags of trash and about 40 discarded tires.
Mr. Adams stated, “We noticed that there was a lack of an environmental group here in Coffee County. Nothing was being done about the ecosystems of this county of which we have many. There are plenty of terrain changes all over Coffee. We have dozens of tributaries, ponds, lakes, and streams… You go to any square inch of this county, there’s trash. … If we don’t pay attention to what’s living right up under our noses in this county, the wildlife, the water, the earth, how we use it; what’s the importance of us focusing on anything else?”
On April 27 Adams & Lott Full Circle Outdoors will perform a wildlife exhibition on the campus of South Georgia State College. They are planning to undertake another volunteer clean-up event after the Fourth of July holiday. Questions about scheduling an exhibition can be directed to Tyler Lott at (912) 592-4563 or to Chris Adams at (912) 292-7559.