Dolly Parton.Photo: Mark Seliger/ABC via Getty
Dolly Partonwants you to know the importance of climate change awareness.
The country icon recently spoke toNational Geographicfor an in-depth story about her native Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, touching on the region’s colorful vegetation, wildlife, and the crucial nature of protecting it from the effects of climate change.
“We should pay more attention,” said Parton, 76. “We’re just mistreating Mother Nature—that’s like being ugly to your mama… We need to take better care of the things that God gave us freely. And that we’re so freely messing up.”
Dolly Parton.Michael Loccisano/Getty
The musician andRun, Rose, Runauthor generally strays from speaking on controversial issues related to politics, as she toldUSA Todayin 2020. “I don’t like to get involved in politics, because first of all, I have as many Republican fans as I do Democrats,” said Parton at the time. “I don’t want to offend anybody.”
However, Parton’s passion for her home state’s nature seems to override her often-neutral stance when it comes to climate change. “She is very active in causes that speak to her heart, and the Smoky Mountains where she grew up—that’s where her heart is” American Eagle Foundation executive director Jessica Hall — who helps run a bald eagle sanctuary at Dollywood, the “Jolene” singer’s Pigeon Forge, Tennessee amusement park — toldNatGeo.
“To date we’ve released over 180 bald eagles into the wild in the Smoky Mountains,” continued Hall. “It’s incredible: We’ve tracked our bald eagles in Ohio and Florida. We feel strongly that we have played a small but important role in the repopulation of the bald eagle species in the South.”
“The Smokies have a heart of their own,” Parton detailed of the region, which she wrote about in 1972’s “My Tennessee Mountain Home,” recently named one of the state’s official songs. “It’s the way the water flows, the way it sounds, and the way it feels when you get in it. I don’t know if it’s just because it’s my home—but I really don’t think so. I think it’s just one of those special places that God put here for us to enjoy.”
source: people.com
