I have made a discovery. One of universal joy for an unusual subset of people. It rolls like this: find tire, extract tire, smile with tire, celebrate, go find another tire. I have a complicated relationship with tires. Apparently, I am not the only one. Welcome to Iowa Project AWARE: A Watershed Awareness River Expedition.

Iowa Project AWARE just hit the West Fork of the Des Moines River July 10-15: 4.5 days cleaning 61.4 river miles from the Petersburg Access in Minnesota to the River Runner Access in West Bend, Iowa. An average of 200 paddlers spent 6 hours a day enjoying the water that brings life to the people and the land.  200 people x 6 hours equals 1200 hours a day cleaning up the river!!!!! Multiply that by 4.5 days and the whopping 5,400 hours of labor and love lifts our hearts like a tire trapped in a log jam that suddenly pops up after being danced upon by a determined tire trash treasure seeker. In addition to that effort, there’s the “staff” volunteers in orange shirts that work the ramp, the sorting, the hauling, the lifting, the feeding, the registration, the education programs each night, and the safety briefs every morning. In this giant community of love for our rivers, the grandest most beautiful gift of all is the children growing up surrounded by this outpouring of generosity. These children are being carefully trained to wrangle tires, corral refrigerators and pry debris all from the river.

Day 1:

Red sky dawn. Our camp is on a glacial lake carved by a giant rake of ice and boulders, shallow depressions left in its wake, filled with the water of life. Pelicans, cormorants wake into flight. Swallows, crows, turkey vultures all lifting. It’s 5:30 AM on the first morning of Iowa Project AWARE. Coffee is momentarily steaming in my cup. The canoes are sparkling clean. Our muscles are fresh. I am enjoying the sights and sounds of dawn from a dock at Wolden County Park in Emmet County ready to stretch, anticipating the first full day. Staff meeting at 6 AM to go over the days logistics of unloading 100 canoes, shuttling snacks to the midway, gathering paddles and buckets, and filling water coolers for 200 tire trash treasure seekers.

The night before, every volunteer, including staff volunteers, introduced themselves by way of stating how many years they have participated in AWARE and identifying their watershed. I was immediately struck with a bolt of joy realizing that as a community, we are growing children into adults with a conservation ethic. Iowa Project AWARE is in its 19^th year. Children are growing up on the rivers of Iowa; caring, connecting, committing their positive energy to the river family.

Day 2:

So many stories are created everyday on the river and it isn’t until the boats come in that the stories unfold in the telling. My favorite story of the day was the extraction of a massive mostly buried tractor tire brought in by Ryan Ceynar (age 21, AWARE 13 years) and Brian Soenen with two others on a canoe-maran. This is how the biggest stuff is safely paddled down the river. It took them almost an hour to dig the tire out.

Day 3:

My canoe was filled within the first hour by Ryan and a gang of other people who were gently guiding legacy trash out of the banks and into canoes. The hood of a car, two refrigerators, and loads of metal were ferried downstream.

Later in the day, Jamie and I saw a refrigerator hung up on the tip of a log jam. We paddled around the jam and came up from the downstream side. We were able to climb out onto the tree and I shoved it off with my legs. It bobbed its lopsided rusty self down the river for 2 miles to the take out corraled by Rod, Jamie and I. We wanted to make sure it didn’t get distracted by any more log jams.

Day 4:

So many great memories from this day! It was a big day full of heavy trash. At the very end of the day, the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa  plus Green Iowa Americorps volunteers had fully bonded into a team. I caught the moment on camera! These incredible volunteers worked hard everyday loading and unloading boats and emptying the heavy loads of garbage gathered from the river.

 Other fine memories include an extreme tire adventure and a moment of pride. While waiting for paddlers to reach the midpoint, I began cleaning up the banks of the river from the shore. Suddenly I heard Francesca Dalla Betta yell with delight that she had found a tire but it was caught in a mat of logs floating in the middle of the river. She wasn’t sure she could get it. I yelled across and asked if it had a rim. Yes. This means it will float once extracted and could be bumped downstream to a safer loading location along the bank. Her paddle partner, Raina Henze, held onto the log while Francesca straddled both boat and tire, eventually climbing out altogether and dancing on the tire, jumping up and down to wiggle it free. With her weight no longer in the canoe, her partner struggled to stay in one place, the canoe gradually moving away from Francesca. But her efforts worked! That tire bobbed up so fast that Francesca fell into the river and floated with the tire downstream. She held onto the tire to keep it from floating away and kicked like mad to get to shore where the canoe was ready to catch her. I watched the whole drama unfold, the only witness, ready to run and call for help if needed and cheer the mighty muddy duo when all was well. FYI all volunteers wear life jackets!

The moment of pride came watching Evelyn Shawda ( age 14, AWARE 6 years), helping some grown newbie men try to extract a piece of metal from the bank. She knew exactly what to do and what tools were needed. Not surprising since her mother can always be counted on for excellent tools and great trash extracting advice. I was struck again with appreciation for this awesome transfer of care, energy and knowledge from parent to child, from an entire river community, from generation to generation. The kids and grandkids of Project AWARE veterans are becoming young adults, ready to care for the rivers of Iowa.

Day 5:

The last day I made an effort to capture the elusive tire trash treasure smiles. I first came upon Lucas and Ainsley Marso. Lucas had found a tire and he needed some help. They had both forgotten their gloves so I offered to bring the tire to their boat. Such proud faces!

The next adventure included witnessing long time veteran Jim Dodd and his granddaughter Bailey Dodd (age 15, AWARE 3 years) problem solve how to safely extract the tire from the log jam. She got it done by sitting on the log and lifting it up and over, right into the canoe. So awesome!

My final giggle of the day was at the takeout. Upon arrival I was asked if I had found a tractor tire and taken it back upstream. No, it wasn’t me! Turns out it was Evelyn Shawda. Her voice must sound like mine because the launch staff thought is was me calling out the tire and paddling back upstream. They were ready to yell mishieviously, “Laura, no, you’re supposed to go DOWNSTREAM!! Haven’t we trained you better?” Ahh, well, I am untrainable, kind of like a cat. The real story goes like this. Evelyn had launched with Jeff White and spotted a tractor tire in the first 1/4 mile. Once removed they and 2 other young paddlers, took it back upstream and handed it off to staff before setting out again.

I feel so grateful to be a part of this effort. Our future belongs to our children, our grandchildren. Hope is the balm that soothes so many wounds. Of the 348 volunteers, 157 were 25 years or younger and 96 were 18 years or younger. Thank you to every parent and grandparent on Iowa Project AWARE that has inspired their children and grandchildren to become environmental stewards and grow as leaders, ready to forge a healthier future for Iowa’s rivers and streams.

If you would like to see more photos of canoes loaded with insane amounts of metal, tires and garbage visit the Iowa Project AWARE Facebook page or website at iowaprojectaware.org! Your mind might be blown away by what we can float down a river! And so many tire trash treausre smiles too from so many young people.

Let me take you for a ride. It might be a little wet and muddy and not quite what you expect. I have a complicated relationship with tires. As an artist I admire tires as plump, round, textured and dark. They conjure visions of adventure, dirt roads, and new beginnings. But they also leave behind a trail, an insidious legacy of filth. No longer made from all rubber, they have become a chemical cocktail whose material breaks apart, causing mayhem to the health of our rivers. When I find a tire, I cannot help but admire its pleasing aesthetic but I also want to remove its legacy.

Journey with me to the Missouri River Relief cleanup in Kansas City held April 9, 2022. As a deckhand, I enjoy guiding groups out onto the river for an adventurous spin on the water plus a chance to make the river safer for wildlife. My goal is to facilitate a positive experience with the river by inspiring a greater understanding of the creatures that rely on the river for life. Volunteers are given the opportunity to connect with the river by showing a little love through appreciation, gratitude and action. This could be admiring a rock, marveling at otter tracks, or picking up trash.

In leading a group as a guide, I can become a teambuilding facilitator. The simple act of picking up litter with a group of people creates community. And I love being a part of this community! There are so many layers to this statement. There is the giant umbrella community facilitating the entire Missouri River experience; the crew, the sponsors and the public donors. Then there is the community on the boat, the group working together to cleanup an entire beach or perhaps working on a project, like digging out a massive tire. A good leader allows others to lead. A good leader knows when to move out of the way. Oh, but the lure of a giant tire, the fun of being part of the team that saves the river from a dire tire!

So here is the story:

Captain Boot and I dropped off a group of 12 tiger team volunteers, ready to lift, dig, and haul large debris. I led them to six tires buried in the muck and they made short work of extracting them. They want more. Captain Boot and I need to take another group back for lunch, so I suggest they walk upstream to look for more trash. When Captain Boot and I get back to pick them up for lunch, four of them have wandered about a ¼ mile upriver. We went to pick them up in shallow unscouted waters. One guy walks forward to greet the boat and sinks into the muck. The squilch squelch is audible. He is struggling. We need to help free Sinker. There is that moment when I realize they have no idea what to do so I instruct them to find large pieces of driftwood. We need to make a driftwood path to load people and trash. They scramble off, make the driftwood path and then present their treasure; a large semi-truck tire full of mud weighing about 300 pounds. It takes two of them struggling to push it upright. Muck is falling out so I instruct them to let it drop a few more times, get out your aggression and lighten the load!

There is an urgency to the loading because lunch is happening and we need to get back but I want this tire and they want this tire! How in the world were we going to get the tire on the boat without sinking knee deep in the mud? I run around for more driftwood to make a dock and we get the tire precariously balanced on the dock and leaning on the bow. Captain Boot feels the weight of the tire on the boat and declares he’ll never get the boat out with this tire plus 4 more passengers so he backs up. I’m left with a dock to nowhere and an expanse of river before me. I ask, “What do you want me to do?” I’m wondering if he thinks we should leave the tire. Captain Boot says, “I want you to get wet.” Ahh…so I reposition the driftwood dock, reposition the massive tire. One guy is on deck ready to leverage the tire back, another guy is ready to lift and I am right next to him, knees bent, squatting, ready to grunt. I’m pretty confident we got this. It’s going to be heavy but I have beat the mud out of a similar tire in Hinkson Creek and rolled that sucker out to the bank. Speed is of the essence though, there is no time for second chances. We are sinking fast and we are hungry. Then I hear a voice from behind, a reticent, polite voice, apologetic and commanding, “Ma’am, step away from the tire.” I turn around, look up and suddenly remember, OMG, let people lead, this is their experience, not mine and I need to get out of the middle of their story. Did I mention he is incredibly strong looking? I quickly step back, laughing at my muddy self, my dogged determination, and my gratefulness to Kind Giant for asking me to step away from the tire. My role is to observe the team, suggest clues to allow them to create a meaningful connection with the Missouri River. The lesson that a good leader lets others lead was crystal clear! Kind Giant and I maneuver through the muck, trading places. The tire is lifted. We slop into the boat, faces beaming in tired pleasure.

When we get back, Kind Giant, joyful at his team’s accomplishment, is staging a picture with everyone and the river, plus the symbol of their commitment to the river, the gathered trash. I insist on taking the picture so he can join his team.

Later that evening, I recounted this story to the crew. It was so well received, an otter face appeared in the fire!

New place, same passion! Hello friends, I am now working in Iowa for Louisa County Conservation as a naturalist and I just hosted a waste reduction workshop for the public. I put together some waste reduction recipes that I wanted to share plus some not so fun facts about why we are even alarmed by plastic waste.

Why Reduce Plastic Waste?  As a society we create an enormous amount of waste in our day to day lives. Plastic waste is the worst culprit polluting our land, water and air.

How much are we using?

• In 2019, over 400 million tons of plastic were produced. Half is destined as single -use products.
• 500 million plastic straws are used every day in the United States. That’s enough to circle the Earth twice.
• 1 million disposable water bottles are made every minute of every day globally.

Why not recycle?

• 91% of all plastics are NOT recycled. In fact, Plastic cannot be recycled (endlessly remade into the same product). Only glass, paper and aluminum can be recycled. Plastic #1, #2 and #5 can be downcycled into a usable product one time where suitable markets exist.

Where is it going?

• Plastic doesn’t biodegrade. The EPA reports that “every bit of plastic ever made still exists.”
• 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste currently covers 40% of our oceans, causing both ecological damage and harm to wildlife.
• About 89% of the plastic in our waterways is single use: cigarette butts, plastic drinking bottles, plastic bottle caps, food wrappers, plastic grocery bags, plastic lids, straws and stirrers, other types of plastic bags, and foam take-away containers.

What are the impacts?

• Marine animals both ingest and get tangled up in plastic. This can lead not just to injuries but also painful deaths. 1 million marine birds and 100,000 marine animals die each year from eating plastic.
• Petroleum plastic is a byproduct of refining oil and gas. This process causes air pollution and contributes to the climate change crisis.

Luckily there are a number of ways to reduce plastic waste

• Try making cleaning products and food from scratch. For example, if everyone made their own laundry detergent from the recipe below, we would eliminate 1 billion single use plastic jugs. We could also save truck fuel (for transporting liquid detergent) and CO2 emissions equivalent to taking 27 million cars off the road a day or planting 9 million trees! Wow!
• Try to eliminate single use plastic from your life (yes, it’s daunting but so worth it!)
  • Reusable water bottle, shopping bags, and take-out containers.
  • Choose fruits and vegetable not wrapped in plastic when possible.
  • Choose store-bought beverages and foods processed in paper, glass and metal.
• Support products that use less plastic packaging. Consumer choices make a big difference.

Please let me know any creative ways you have discovered to reduce plastic waste in your home. Please feel free to share any of this information. Happy creating!

Laundry Detergent: safe for HE washers

Ingredients

• 4 oz bar soap grated (equals about 2 cups)- use Castile soap either homemade or Dr. Bronner’s, Fels Naptha, or Ivory
• 2 cups baking soda (Dollar General sells huge box for cheap)
• 2 cups washing soda
• 1-2 cups Borax

Instructions

1. Mix it all up and store in a 2 quart container
2. To use: 2 TBSP per large heavy load
3. Always put powder in before laundry- works in all temperatures

• For at home: the above recipe is great for a family of 2. If you have a bigger family, double it! Some folks use a 5 gallon container, others use large metal popcorn containers.
• Enjoy the savings and knowing that you are reducing waste!!!

Natural Liquid Dish Soap Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds
• 1 1/2 cups distilled water or boiled tap water
• 1 TBSP washing soda (found in the laundry aisle)
• 1 TBSP table salt and 3 TBSP hot water

Instructions

1. Boil about 2 cups of water in a tea pot or microwave.
2. In a cereal bowl, dissolve 1 TBSP salt in 3 TBSP hot water- stir for about 30 seconds
3. In a separate bowl, dissolve 1 TBSP washing soda in 1 1/2 cups very hot distilled water- stir for about 30 seconds- let cool completely
4. Add the Sal Suds to a dish soap dispenser. Add cooled washing soda mixture.
5. Add 2 tablespoons of the salt mixture to the dish soap and shake vigorously. It will turn cloudy and thicken.

Note: Over time this liquid dish soap may thicken a little too much. If this happens, add a little more water until it is the desired consistency again. It also helps to just shake it before use. I have now reused my dish soap container 7 times in one year!

Another Homemade Dish Soap: A Natural Recipe

https://www.diynatural.com/homemade-dish-soap/

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups boiling water
• 1 Tbsp Borax (found in the laundry soap aisle)
• 1 Tbsp grated bar soap (castile bar soap like Dr. Bronners or Ivory)
• 15-20 drops essential oils or fresh lemon juice- citrus cuts grease

Instructions

1. Heat water to boiling.
2. Combine borax and grated bar soap in a medium bowl. Pour hot water over the mixture. Whisk until the grated soap is completely melted.
3. Allow mixture to cool on the countertop for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally. Dish soap will gel upon standing.
4. Transfer to a soap dispenser and add essential oils or lemon juice. Shake well to combine.

Notes: I have not perfected this recipe yet but I am motivated to try! Zero waste solution; uses soap bits. Reduces plastic waste and saves money! May not work as well as the other recipe. Still experimenting with using maybe ½ cup grated bar soap. I keep a jar of baking soda under the sink to sprinkle on greasy dishes. Works magically!

Simple Homemade Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

1. In a cold saucepan, whisk together the cocoa and the sugar until all lumps are removed. Add the salt and the water and bring to a boil over medium to medium-high heat. 
2. Reduce to a simmer stirring constantly. Simmer for about 30 seconds and then remove from heat. Let cool and then add vanilla. Pour into a 16 oz glass jar and refrigerate until needed. Enjoy!

Notes: The chocolate sauce will be very thin when it finishes boiling, but it will thicken as it cools. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Reduces plastic waste, saves money, and has no added chemicals! Good for the environment, good for your pocketbook and better for you.

Ocean Waves Bath Salts

Ingredients

• 1 cup Epsom salts
• 1 cup sea salt
• Food coloring
• 3 TBSP dehydrated milk (optional)
• Essential oil (optional)

Instructions

• Mix the salts in a mixing bowl
• Whisk in (or use a fork) 8 drops of food coloring if you want just one color. For layering colors, divide salt mixture in half and add about 4 drops of food coloring each
• Add optional dehydrated milk
• Add optional essential oil
• Layer bath salts into your special jar
• Decorate your jar however you like… add a label.

Notes: this makes a wonderful gift! Try reusing a plastic jar if you are worried about glass breaking in the bathroom. My daughter loved making this and using a handful in her bath every day.

Grandpa Waldo’s Baking Mix

Ingredients for 1 quart jar

• 3 cups flour (white or a blend of whatever you like)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• ½ tsp salt

Instructions

• mix dry ingredients together and store in a 1 quart jar
• Make you own flour blend by adding cornmeal, whole wheat flour, or ground flax seed. I like to always use ½ white flour and ½ cornmeal- depends on your tastes!
• to make 8 pancakes
  •  mix 1 cup baking mix and 1 egg plus enough milk to create desired thickness
  • Grandpa takes an electric skillet and fries bacon first (325) then leaves some of the grease to make the pancakes! Best pancakes ever!

Notes: less plastic packaging, less money, more freedom!

Further resources:

Plastics 101/ National Geographic; excellent science-based story of plastic. 6 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggh0Ptk3VGE

Plastic Pollution: How Humans are Turning the World into Plastic; incredible. 9 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS7IzU2VJIQ

The Story of Plastic. April 22, 2020. Full length mind blower. https://www.storyofplastic.org/watch

Plastic Wars. March 31, 2020. Frontline. 55 minutes. Plastic Industry professional marketers are still trying to tell us it’s our fault for not figuring out how to recycle what cannot be recycled. They are still trying to sell solid waste agencies million dollar sorting machines. Bottom line; there is no market for this much plastic and refining oil to make petroleum plastic is contributing to climate change and planetary destruction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dk3NOEgX7o

To the next AmeriCorps VISTA serving Missouri River Relief

From Laura Waldo-Semken, the outgoing AmeriCorps VISTA

8/3/2020

Dear next AmeriCorps VISTA,

Your task is to work to eliminate poverty. Or work to ensure environmental sustainability, one of the 8 United Nations Millennium Goals to end poverty.

Your mission is to strengthen organizations that eliminate or alleviate poverty through mobilization of community volunteers and resources. You will get to establish systems and develop community relationships to better generate resources, encourage volunteer service at the local level and empower individuals and communities to lift themselves out of poverty.

Your vision will be unique. My favorite saying is that if you think you are too small to make a difference, then you have never slept with a mosquito.

I hope your year is just as rewarding as mine. I got to strengthen and transform my “I got this!” attitude into a stronger “We can do this together!” tornado of earth energy. Thank you, John Brady!

What a year! First, I have to gush over how much I appreciate being welcomed into the Missouri River Relief family. This group is generous, kind, and helpful always. Know that you are supported! They are exemplary examples of the universal value of being kind to others, valuing purpose and always being helpful in the goal of building community.

Oh, give me a boat friends and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock ‘n’ roll and drift away…

And when my mind is free
You know a river song can move me
And when I’m feelin’ blue
Big Muddy’s comin’ through to soothe me

Thanks for the joy that you’ve given me
I want you to know I believe in your song
And rhythm and rhyme and harmony
You help me along, makin’ me strong

…Oh Big Muddy won’t you take me away!!

My year spent with Missouri River Relief helped develop my understanding of community and the joy of working together to get it done. It also helped me remember and re-experience my childlike unbounded energy. This energy comes from the umbilical cord of joy that connects all children to life. And then awareness happens and tragedies strike and as adults there are many hazards to navigate. It can wear you down to nothing. Like fragments of shells that slowly turn to fossils, my year at Missouri River Relief has helped galvanize my character and reconnect me to joy. I have always bitten off more than I can chew as you can see from the “I got this!” photo of me just itchin’ to carry the Duluth packs. I am having so much fun. Myself as a child is a beautiful thing. But as an adult I have learned that it is even more joyful, more rewarding to allow others to come together with a common purpose. I love being with a group of people that all want to tackle the trash, that share ideas for ways to solve a problem and can work together as a team to get it done!

See a boat washed up into a tree? Let’s push it out and then come back with a huge saw and cut it up and get it out of our river! The sweat of 6 people and the support of an entire community helped make this project possible.

Tornado blows enormous amounts of Styrofoam everywhere? Let’s go get it! An entire community hauled out 176 large chunks of Styrofoam during the Jefferson City clean-up in just one morning!

In my opinion, the common purpose of cleaning up our rivers is the most rewarding of all. There are many issues that threaten the integrity of our rivers and therefore the integrity of our communities. Everyone can agree that pollution in our rivers is not good. It is relatively easy to pick up trash. The hard thing is slowing down the faucet of trash with waste reduction strategies. The hardest thing is finding alternatives to plastic; and encouraging corporations to find alternatives to plastic. Shale gas is being extracted to create overwhelming amounts of single use plastic products that are choking the earth. In addition, the process of extracting the gas and creating the plastic is polluting the air of many marginalized communities. It also exacerbates the climate crisis. The issue of plastic pollution is an issue of justice. Bringing folks to the river to experience the current pollution crisis can help build a community of folks that can communicate about this crisis, bringing awareness to more and more folks.

So with this challenge coupled with the mission of connecting the community to the Missouri River, you will never be bored!

Be prepared to lean into your comfort zone and be a little uncomfortable. This happened to me when I was asked to film myself and begin creating videos. I had zero desire to create videos of myself. But I have a talent for teaching and the River Relief staff encouraged me to express this talent for the good of the community. Turns out I had a blast writing, gathering props, acting, learning how to edit and producing a final product. It is a form of creativity. I still don’t like to see myself in the videos but I have to admit I am a little bit odd and therefore could be perceived as entertaining. If you would like to view some of them, subscribe to the Missouri River Relief Youtube channel.

I was also asked early on if I liked to write. I said no, not really. But I found out that I do like to communicate and writing is a cutting-edge tool for getting the job done.

AmeriCorps VISTA highlights:

• Wrote, starred, directed and created 4 videos. To watch, click each link separately:
  • Look out for Litter
  • Creek Stompin’ with Missouri River Relief: Know Before you Go Guide
  • How to Make YOUR Adventure “Smoosh” Book
  • Little Free Library
• Learned how to make videos in Powerpoint. You get to learn Filmora. Good Luck!
• Created watershed activities with maps for Jefferson City, Flat Branch Creek and Boone County.
• Created a Powerpoint presentation titled Reducing your Plastic Footprint plus activities.
• Created a database of potential business donors for the Youth Scholarship Fund to help youth participate in our education events and camps. Received 2 donations.
• Applied for 3 grants. Succeeded at 2 grants.
• Facilitated and created watershed games for Watershed Expeditions, our new online camp that reached over 60 campers!
• Partnered with Stormwater Education program in Columbia Missouri to create a watershed camp.
• Coordinated 7 volunteers to distribute 200 Missouri River workbooks to 32 Little Free Libraries in Columbia, Washington and Jefferson City.
• Put a bow on the Missouri River All Stars curriculum.
• Created Trash Mob promotions to keep small groups involved with cleaning up our watershed.
• Created a Program Request web update.
• Learned how to create and schedule Facebook posts to help keep our river family connected.
• Participated in 2 Missouri River Relief clean-ups.
• MRR meets MLS- created a table of Missouri River curriculum ideas that could meet Missouri Learning Standards. I enjoy making connections!
• Served at the Central Pantry and helped develop a new food distribution model during COVID.
• Participated in health monitoring for people experiencing homelessness with Mike Trapp and the CoMo Crisis Shelter.

Other highlights of my year:

I spent a lot of my free time picking up trash on the Hinkson, Flat Branch or Perche creek, sometimes alone and sometimes with one friend. With the help of Shawn, or Kevin, or Elke, or David Owen we picked up 99 tires and 3.04 tons of trash. Because of the network of people already involved in Missouri River Relief I was also able to help organize larger trash clean ups or “Trash Mobs” in my free time. Organizing opportunities for people to come together for the benefit of the community is so rewarding!

I wanted to bring awareness to the plastic crisis in our own community and how pollution adversely affects our community. I also wanted to help mobilize volunteers.  All of these things are part of the VISTA mission. I got involved with 10 trash mobs (minimum of 3 participants) with 59 folks participating. We picked up an additional 39 tires and 1.65 tons of trash. Watching Elke Bettina organize the Hinkson clean ups inspired me and gave me the confidence to organize some too!

Resource Mapping to help shape your capacity building strategy:

This trash mob experience was very empowering for me; it brought me hope and joy to feel supported by others who also care about our rivers. It also helped me get to know the creeks of Columbia and Jody Cook, the volunteer coordinator for the City of Columbia. She is a wonderful ally. You see, I noticed right away that Columbia had a lot of litter, especially after trash day. Columbia has a unique trash pick-up system where you put out a bag of trash (no trash cans allowed), raccoons rip it open, and then the city cannot pick it up and it is left to pollute the Missouri River watershed. I decided to participate in city organized clean ups to learn more about this issue. Jody was always there to answer my questions and support my ideas about stewardship action in our community that would benefit our watershed. The Trash Mobs were the perfect way to begin this awareness work during COVID.

In my free time I also attended a Black Lives Matter march and listened to community and religious leaders speak about race and justice in Columbia. I learned about Missouri Faith Voices. This is a powerful community organization that is working to end poverty. If you want to collaborate, I would highly recommend this organization!

Getting to know community leaders that work for social, economic, and environmental justice contributed to my overall experience and helped me map resources within the community which is part of being an AmeriCorps VISTA.  Resource mapping is a very important first step to building the capacity within your organization to build a more just society. This is what AmeriCorps is all about!

Your title with River Relief is education assistant and your title with the VISTA program is Stream Teams United Development Coordinator. Balancing these two titles was a wonderful challenge. Have a plan, a form, a shape. But let the shape be like sand. Allow ideas from unexpected sources fertilize your mind, allowing the sand to shift and create a new shape. Develop ideas and record them for the future but understand that you may not get to bring life to those ideas. Know that when you are contributing to an organization, your ideas are like gold. And working to bring fruition to ideas of others is also golden.

Missouri River Relief develops and provides both science education and environmental education. I was asked by friends to elaborate on the difference so I thought I would share it here. Environmental education shares many of the same goals as science education. Science education helps students ask questions based on past research and to further develop questions based on observations. In the process students can increase their knowledge and awareness about the environment. Students also practice thinking critically which is a prerequisite for being able to discuss challenging environmental issues.  Environmental Education is a learning process that increases people’s knowledge and awareness about the environment and associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and expertise to address the challenges, and fosters attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions and take responsible action. (UNESCO, 1978) EE at its finest develops moral character. But this is very challenging to do!  Ethical Expertise is a skills-based approach to helping youth develop ethically (Narvaez, 2009). My friend Dr. Chris McCart developed a game called character development bingo and it succinctly helps organizations reflect on ways to improve their EE goals by giving examples from the ethical expertise model. Sensitivity or “I notice” is easy. Judgement or thinking is a little trickier but it just involves allowing kids to elaborate on an ethical drama. Motivation is also pretty easy to tackle. An example would be teaching skills that support later independent exploration of the outdoors. The most challenging is Action (skills to make informed decisions)because it is sometimes confused with advocacy (which involves influencing others to create specific policies). Following the definition of EE, action does not include advocacy. Examples include mentoring youth in service-learning or community service projects or supporting local community development projects. This is where I see the AmeriCorps position as potentially being able to grow because EE action goals dovetail with the mission of VISTA.

As a VISTA, you will get to create education programs and coordinate volunteers to address a poverty issue that is meaningful to that community. Healthy watersheds create healthy communities but how is this idea relevant to kids in Title 1 schools? My idea that I want to pass on to you is the BASP Watershed Winners program. If this seems like something you and the organization is interested in, my advice would then be to ask Michele Woolbright (stormwater educator for Boone County) and Jody Cook and the good folks of Missouri Faith Voices for input about how to make it relevant. Get input from as many leaders as possible. Then partner with Title 1 schools, UM after school program and watershed educators from Master Naturalists to create an awesome environmental education after-school program that is free. And if you want to get some grants follow the Waste Reduction Education path.

Another idea would be to incorporate organizing and mobilizing volunteers for “Trash Mobs” into your VISTA job. Again reach out and partner with others and engage with students from Title 1 schools.

You too will have your unique voice full of wonderful ideas to share with the group that can help build the capacity of this awesome organization to create wealthier communities through healthy watersheds. I look forward to following your journey as the next AmeriCorps VISTA for Missouri River Relief.

Bye for now and good luck!

P.S. For my blog followers: My next journey takes me back to Iowa as the newest Louisa County naturalist. Stay tuned for more ponderings and adventures from the river county!

by Laura Semken June 12, 2020

I would like to nominate Vulture for president of the United States of America. We need a president that can help stop the spread of diseases. We need a president that understands the value of “Keep it Clean”. A president that will work to defend clean water and breathable air, that understands that a degraded environment leads to disease. Turkey Vultures are such a blessing! Their latin name is Cathartes aura which can translate to mean purifying breeze or golden purifier. They eat dead stuff which helps stop the spread of diseases. They are known as nature’s clean up crew for good reason! They also have a really good sense of smell. We need a president with a good sense of smell to detect rotten deals. Other presidential attributes include non violent defense tactics. When Turkey Vultures feel threatened, they do not use weapons that could harm innocent bystanders, they simply empty the contents of their stomach all over you. It works. The Turkey Vulture is left alone.

There is so much wisdom to be found in our animal relations. My vice presidential choice would be the River Otter. They do not hoard or cache food, only catching what they need to survive. There are no nefarious dealings with cash siphoned into off shore banks. They also love to play with each other, romping and sliding in all kinds of weather. Otter relations are never fired.

Both of these candidates understand adaptive management. They have adapted to survive on earth without destroying habitat or harming each other. Turkey Vultures reuse abandoned nests or just find a cozy place in an old building to nest. Otters also use abandoned burrows of other animals or dig their own dens in the bank of creek. They do not make or burn things that last forever or change the atmosphere, undermining the entire planet.

If you are still reading you have gleaned that I admire our animal relations ability to thrive without harm to the planet. Native cultures also observed animal behavior and were inspired to let these observations shape their wisdom. One of my favorite books is called Creature Teachers: A guide to the Spirit Animals of the Native American Tradition by Grandmother Twylah Nitsch. In the introduction she states, “…all creatures are our family and relatives…Nature is their school. Nature is our school. Let’s look through Nature’s eyes and accept the beauty within our reach and learn how to grow through our knowingness.”

I suppose I could also nominate Christ for president. As a carpenter with loads of ethics, something kind and good might be built. Or perhaps a beaver. Beavers are the best carpenters in the animal world. Such industrious vegetarian critters! But they do not intend to have what they build last forever or harm other creatures. Its just short term to help them feed more efficiently.

Let’s get back to the other reality. This morning I headed out to Flat Branch Creek on my bike with the trailer attached so I could get the torn up river blanket that I laid out to dry yesterday. As I came to it, my legs wanted to keep riding and so my feet obliged. I ended up going to check out the gravel bar upstream from the Forum Bridge over the Hinkson Creek. The Hinkson flooded a couple days ago and I was curious to see how the water had reshaped the land and what treasures could be found. I discovered the evidence of a party that I was not invited to (plus lots of plastic and a tire). But that’s okay, because there was a party in my heart full of clapping for all the critter tracks I found. And I began to sing All God’s Critters have a place in the Choir.

This is why I spend so much time cleaning up our creeks; so the critters can clap and party safely without getting tangled in the plastic detritus of our culture. I guess I am like a Vulture, cleaning up the detritus of our culture. And I do so enjoy working either solo or with my fellow Vulture Crew to get the plastic out of our streams, keep it out of our rivers, and protect our critters from plastic harm.

by Laura Waldo-Semken 5/8/2020

Litterbugs are a nuisance but T-Rex Trashers are downright ominous. Let me tell you a story.

I was riding my bike this morning on my daily creek stompin’ litter pickin’ foray when I looked over and saw a beautiful buck with fuzzy antlers, a symbol of manifest virility. Soon those emerging fuzzy buds will be smooth, hard, strong and sharp, ready to defend territory. Dawn brings hope and this deer is my metaphor of the day.

I pick up about 20 gallons of single use plastics like bottles, packaging and bags, every day from Columbia’s creeks, mostly Hinkson and Flat Branch. I know there is so much more plastic that gets buried in the banks every time it rains- a new unwanted layer of the earth. But there is hope. The layer is yet thin. Half of all the world’s plastic has been produced in the last 15 years thanks to the abundant gas produced from fracking. That means the layer is only 15 years old. And the Break Free from Plastic movement is growing stronger and sharper and will be used to defend our territory, the earth. This movement toward cleaner energy and less waste is Feelin’ Stronger Everyday!

The Break Free from Plastic movement is not the first chapter of concern about litter. Back in the 1960’s when we were being sold the wonders of plastic, folks noticed the litter and raised a ruckus, pointing the finger at the producers, the T-Rex Trashers. But Big Oil is making big money off plastic packaging so they decided to use marketing, appropriated a pseudo crying Indian and put the onus on the consumer, those pesky litterbugs.

Enter the next chapter when fracking allowed plastic to be cheap again. It is not a coincidence that half the worlds plastic has been produced in the last 15 years and in 2005 the US Energy Policy Act was passed. This act allows oil and gas companies exemptions to environmental and health regulations. The resultant shale gas boom created a glut of raw materials for plastic production. To add insult to injury, the oil and gas industry receives 5.2 trillion dollars in subsidies annually so that we are forced to buy vegetables wrapped in plastic.

And we cannot recycle plastic away. That is another lie promoted by Big Oil. Unlike aluminum and glass, plastic is very difficult to recycle. According to the World Economic Forum only 2 % of plastic is effectively recycled into a product as useful as the original product. The other 12% is downcycled into something that degrades over time. The rest becomes litter, or is buried with taxpayer money, or is incinerated to pollute the air.

With this glut of shale gas, new markets must be inundated with more plastic to feed the hungry industry. Countries like India, who thought they wanted the western convenience culture of single use plastic items, were bought and sold. Now folks are living in mountains of plastic garbage. There is no way to “manage” this waste away. But Big Oil has it all figured out. Not only is the litterbug to blame and the country without proper waste management infrastructure, but then taxpayers have to pay to manage Big Oil’s waste. We have been Sold American!

The movie, the Story of Plastic, spells out with horrific clarity the impressive hoax played by the T-Rex Trashers on all of us bugs. You can watch it here until May 17 thanks to the Sierra Club Kansas Chapter.

Yes, litterbugs are a nuisance but the T-Rex Trashers are deadly, predatory beasts destroying our beautiful home with their appetite for producing single use plastic products from subsidized oil and gas. From the cradle to the grave, plastic harms us and life on Earth forever. It’s time to close the loop and force the producers to take responsibility for their products from the cradle to the grave.

By Laura Waldo-Semken 3/28/2020 AmeriCorps VISTA serving Missouri River Relief

I found a Ping Pong ball in Flat Branch creek today. Reminds me of my grandmother, NoNo. A feisty woman who played basketball, danced like a movie star, a silver tongue and a wit like no other. She once told me she lived just to find out what crazy thing would happen the next day. Nagging legislators about issues dear to her was also part of her playbook. When fights with my Grandpa got heated, they would take it to the basement for a match of Ping Pong. Keep fighting, keep working it out, be curious and dance like nobodies watching. Please click the link and listen. It’s grandma approved.

What’s this got to do with plastic reduction you ask? Well, when I pick up trash, almost all of it is plastic, both soft and hard. And I ask myself, “Why do I keep doing this?” It seems pointless cause we are not turning this plastic faucet off anytime soon. Where is the motivation? Suddenly the answer came to me, in my twisted brain, as I admired how the roots of the Sycamore adapted by growing around the rocks as if in embrace. And the water shaped it as well, forces beyond the Sycamore’s control.

Adaptation. Picking up this plastic mess is all I can do right here right now. The motivation seems to be a force beyond my control. I enjoy the gurgling of the creek, the frogs leaping, the fish scattering, the knowledge that I am mitigating injury to wildlife. I wish the manufacturers would only create reusable or magic disappearing packaging. I wish that consumers would reject convenience consumption. I wish folks wouldn’t toss trash out their car windows. I wish that communities had the tools to give every homeless person a home and mental health care too. But we are left with adaptation. So I must keep pickin’ and grinnin’. We must adapt.

So as I was creek stomping, searching for sanity, thinking about writing this blog, being forced to adapt to a strange social distancing world where folks are losing jobs and kids are not allowed to go to school, I began singing this song: I have reason to believe the grass might be a little greener on the other side.

And hope. Cannot forget hope. With adaptation, we are getting out and doing clean ups just by ourselves or with family. And we are creating a community by sharing pictures and stories, giving each other praise, acknowledging accomplishments, creating a larger family. We are not alone. This new online trash tally talk is fun: #IPickedItUp  #KeepItClean #RiverRelief  #GiveaHootDontPollute. We can adapt.

If love is the motivator, like a rock, then adaptation is like water in a creek, always flowing, always singing. Keep pickin’ and grinnin’ my friends!!

Let’s do this!!

• 

Hello,

I have been spending time learning about what has been happening in the world of plastic. I now understand that this is a global crisis. Plastic is a versatile and strong and cheap material with many incredible uses but plastic is not disposable. It lasts a very long time. It is not okay to use for single use. Recycling is not the answer because there is simply too much single use plastic being produced too fast. For example, there are 1 million disposable water bottles produced globally every minute!!! In order to deal with this crisis work must include addressing the source, the producers. I want plastic free choices!

My learning time has involved some really incredible videos that have increased the depth of my perception. I want to share all of them with you! They are a little depressing but they are mostly hopeful and wonderful. They help make me feel a part of something greater, because otherwise I feel too small to make a difference. I know, I know, my favorite quote is, “If you think you are too small to make a difference you have never shared a sleeping bag with a mosquito” but wow, this plastic is beyond ubiquitous.

Here are the links to the videos. You could follow my journey if you like. I began with: Plastics 101 National Geographic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggh0Ptk3VGE

Then I watched this animated 9 minute thriller: Plastic Pollution: how humans are turning the world into plastic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS7IzU2VJIQ

Moved on to what I thought would break my heart in 4 minutes but it did not; POWERFUL VIDEO: Why We Need to Stop Plastic Pollution in Our Oceans FOR GOOD | Oceana https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yomf5pBN8dY

And then a longer, 24 minute, really well done global perspective; A Plastic Wave: a documentary film on plastic pollution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-dpv2xbFyk

And then to end your journey for now, a smile, a song, to remind you that if you use plastic, you are partly responsible for the harm, and we are all responsible for giving the next generation a better world: Plastic Ocean https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlqi58MV3yQ

Part of all this watching is because I am preparing a short presentation, facilitating a discussion and demonstrating ways to reduce our plastic footprint, one step at a time on Saturday, February 29th at the Sustainable Living Fair here in Columbia, Mo. Hope to meet you there!

Are you a cat owner wishing you could let go of your addiction to free plastic shopping bags? Composting kitty litter allows a cat owner to break free. Here’s how. It’s kind of a long story since free plastic shopping bags are so much a part of our practical lifestyle.

Where to begin?!? First, single use plastic bags are bad. But so practical. But bad. 10 reasons why they are bad:

https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/sustainability/plastic_bag_facts.html?fbclid=IwAR1Mcxq9-mByILR1qsaj_fyeIOmJKb6aSkYFsFPIdPFALtXfi3UN1-0vnwc

It all began with this understanding (that plastic bags are bad). Biodegradable bags are still plastic, they just break down faster. Compostable bags are usually corn based and can be put in a compost pile.

Here is what you need to break free:

Pine bedding for horses from a farm supply store (Orscheln in Columbia, Thiesens in Iowa City)

Composting structure/bin (3 foot x 10 foot hardware cloth, wire cutters) for the active pile

Another bin, like a 40 gallon trash can with the bottom cut off and holes drilled for collecting stuff while the other is actively cooking, or another hardware cloth bin

Kitty pooper scooper

Upcycled Potato chip bags or cereal bags or any other bag used in our industrial food packaging system

I used to teach soil science at Kirkwood Community College. Somehow in my research for interesting articles about fertilizer I found one about a company in England that bought the rights to human urine from porta potties for urine only. They then bottle it and sell it as fertilizer. What?! Yep. In addition to the obvious nitrogen, human urine also contains phosphorus and potassium, which are essential in plant health. If you include wood ash in your compost, you’ve replicated most commercial fertilizers without the harmful chemicals (https://104homestead.com/pee-in-the-compost/).

How about feline urine? Why not? I have 4 cats! I used to need plastic shopping bags for all the clay kitty litter. Clay kitty litter (sodium bentonite) comes to us by plowing the tops off mountains in Montana and 9 other states by strip mining. This destroys the mountain. The United States Geological Society estimates that 85 percent of the 2.54 million tons of clay used in this country every year is used for absorption of pet waste, with cat litter being the dominant. (For detailed information on clay mining operations, see “U.S. Geological Survey, Minerals Information 1996” and “U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2001” both by Robert L. Virta.)

When I volunteered for an animal shelter in Cedar Rapids, I found out about pine horse bedding. For horses you add water, for cats you do not add water. It comes in pellet form, and it’s a renewable resource. Plus it’s sawdust, a great addition to your compost pile. Lightbulb!

But wait, how do you compost again? You need a bin, ideally 3 cubic feet or larger (see photo). I used to have a Geobin. It was great but cost $32! If you have wire cutters you can make one for less than $20. I used the wire from the 3 foot x 10 foot roll of hardware cloth to wire it to the fence plus staked it into the earth with tent stakes salvaged from campgrounds. You also need a pitchfork or something to stir it with. Do you have an extra large (40 plus gallons) plastic bin sitting around? Add some drain/aeration holes and use it for your collector bin. Then you need to save all your kitchen vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and eggshells. I use a 6-8 quart glass jar with a lid but I’ve seen lidded clay pots and metal pots too. Green grass clippings and vegetable scraps are your “green” (nitrogen). A compost pile needs to be about 1/3 green stuff (nitrogen) and about 2/3 “brown” stuff (carbon). Brown stuff includes sawdust and dead leaves, coffee grounds and egg shells. Most home composters use too much green and not enough brown. This causes rot which releases methane, a greenhouse gas 20x more potent that carbon dioxide and smells horrible. Yikes! So getting the brown carbon in your pile is important.

Back to lightbulb! Use horse bedding for kitty litter, scoop poop into upcycled plastic sacks like tortilla chip bags or cereal bags and store in a lidded container (small metal trash can?). Dump kitty litter in compost pile. Dump vegetable scraps in compost pile. Stir maybe 1x a week. Add water if its super dry outside. Water speeds up the process. Within about 3 month you will have a newly composted nutrient rich addition to add to your garden! No mountain top removal, no single use plastic grocery bags, and compost for my native flowers and vegetables! Here is more info about composting: https://learn.eartheasy.com/guides/composting/

I did some digging on the internet to find out alternatives to bagging pet waste and found out that you can compost pet waste (if you are vigilant about turning it and adding moisture) but then you cannot use your rich composted soil amendment for growing vegetables, only flower beds and lawn restoration. Here is how: https://www.the-compost-gardener.com/composting-pet-waste.html

This NRCS document is also very helpful.

The secret to composting and saving kitchen scraps is too make it as easy as possible. Put the compost pile near your back door if possible so you do not have to walk too far to dump stuff. If the ratio of green to brown is good, and you stir it, then it won’t smell bad. Empty your food scraps at least once a week or else they get stinky and in the warm months, fruit fly larva begin wiggling 😊 And pat yourself on the back for learning how to be like a mushroom; a groovy decomposer that turns “waste” into nutrient gold for our beloved Mother Earth.

Laura is serving Missouri River Relief as an AmeriCorps VISTA member with the goal of expanding water education programs for low-income youth. At Missouri River Relief we believe that a measurement of wealth includes our connection with nature so we strive to connect our community with our cultural and natural treasure, the Missouri River. Missouri River Relief facilitates educational, recreational and stewardship opportunities for our community.

Over the years, when polls are taken, I am asked to rate what issues are most pressing. For many years my answer was none of the above because the poll did not include the environment. The poll taker would seem baffled. I would explain that not addressing environmental degradation in tandem with the economy, education or health care was absurd. No single issue relating to sustainability is more important than the other and if one is completely ignored, well, we have today. Finally, with the help of Greta and all of her supporters, Climate Change, Climate Crisis, and Environment are now part of the mainstream political conversation. I have waited many years for this to happen!!! Conversations about the negative impacts of our carbon footprint need to happen. Conversations about other harmful human impacts also need to continue. Plastic litter is plaguing our streets and waterways, our wildlife and ourselves. My New Year’s resolution is to keep the conversation going about plastic litter and how to stop it at the source!

Last year Trashblitz collected the data from 118,993 pieces of trash. The most picked up items were beverage bottles, other bottles, straws, grocery bags, and plastic forks, knives, spoons. Cigarette butts also topped the list. Single use plastic is definitely a problem. Here is another interesting opinion called What to do about plastic pollution. The author calls for more comprehensive solutions as opposed to fees and bans on plastic bags.

I found this article called A Plague of Plastics: The National Wildlife Federation’s priority in regards to plastic is to eliminate single-use plastics (from June, 2019):

Because bags, bottles and other single-use plastics contribute significantly to the plastic pollution devastating wildlife, affiliates of the National Wildlife Federation unanimously passed a resolution at their 2018 meeting calling on state and local governments to discourage such products through bans, fees or other actions. Because plastic harms terrestrial wildlife and even the food we eat, the measure was wholeheartedly backed by groups near and far from the coast, says Laura Bankey, vice president of conservation programs for NWF affiliate National Aquarium, which proposed the resolution.

Missouri River Relief volunteers sorting plastic for recycling after a clean up

How are we ensuring that this steady stream of plastic bottles, bags and single use plastic packaging never reaches the Missouri River? Here in Columbia, I have heard the term freedom tossed around in relation to trash. Some folks want the freedom to throw away as much as they want curbside. They do not want to be contained by trash carts since if all their trash does not fit, they may have to pay slightly more. But it’s the principal of freedom that they think they are protecting. If the Missouri River was my step-father, we would be grounded for a long time. Let me explain. Freedom is responsibility. Freedom without responsibility leads to destruction, degradation, and decay of both health and spirit. Sometimes responsibility can only be motivated by regulations because humans are a wild and crazy bunch. Nobody likes to be told what to do. Regulations should only be for the greater good of freedom; a freedom that embodies thoughtfulness and an understanding that ethical actions in tandem with others lead to health. With the current definition of freedom, many small acts are leading to intense pollution. Bagged trash sitting on the curb is being ripped open by dogs and raccoons and litter is strewn everywhere. Perfectly good furniture is being left out to be landfilled. Folks toss fast food containers out of car windows. Our rivers are littered with bottles, cans, plastic bags and Styrofoam flowing from our streets to the Gulf of Mexico. The Missouri River’s definition of freedom includes cooperation and responsibility. When we cooperate together to solve issues that affect our entire community, we exert our freedom and become free to play in our rivers without fear constraining our actions. We become free to enjoy the beauty of our rivers. And take pride in the knowledge that we are helping to ensure that our rivers support life and the well-being of our family. It takes work to cooperate together, to be responsible, and to earn our freedom by showing respect. Back to my step-father. When I was a teenager, I violated one too many respects and I was no longer free. I was under house arrest; no parties, no friends, no recreational nothing, no life. I had to earn my freedom back by being honest, respectful, and cooperative. I had to prove that I could and would contribute to the well-being of our family. In this way, I became free again. This was a difficult and painful lesson.