Missouri River Relief is proud to be
Missouri Stream Team #1875
Missouri River Relief is a grassroots, volunteer and equipment-based organization dedicated to connecting people to the Missouri River through hands-on river clean-ups, education events and stewardship activities.
The organization emerged organically from a group of people in mid-Missouri who simultaneously recognized the need for engaged stewardship of the Missouri River and the desire of citizens to take part in watershed solutions.
Inspired by a video of Chad Pregracke’s Living Lands and Waters barge clean-up crew, this group of Missouri River lovers put together a coalition of public, private and citizen stewards that brought the barge up the river, holding the first massive Missouri River clean-up at Easley, MO, in 2001.
Since that time, the organization has grown each year. To date, MRR has hosted 91 Missouri River clean-ups, bringing 16,541 volunteers to clean 676 tons of trash from 784 miles of the river. In addition, the organization promoted local river education through 200+ outreach projects connecting more than 13,401 students and teachers to the river.
Missouri River Relief aims to build public awareness, action and support for a healthy river and have participated in and hosted clean-ups in six states, from the Mississippi River to Yankton, S.D.
River Clean-ups accomplish a few things effectively: they engage people proactively in stewardship of the Missouri River, often putting people on the river for the first time. They also educate people about the problem of solid waste on our streams and rivers and physically bring interested parties together to accomplish something real.
But Missouri River Relief quickly realized that broader education is the key to solving our watershed problems. So we have also hosted and participated in 27 Missouri River Watershed Festivals, bringing together corporate, scientific, agency and non-profit experts together to teach 14,401 students about water issues right where it matters most, on the banks of one of the nation’s largest river systems.
MRR continues to broaden their connections with other watershed, education and river groups. Each year, through generous corporate and government donations, we have expanded our equipment fleet which now includes four boats, a 4×4 truck, two passenger vans, and a box truck loaded with tools, trashbags, life-jackets and a camp for volunteers. We feel a responsibility to put this equipment base to work for others, bringing boats and crewmembers to 41 other clean-ups throughout the state, in efforts we call “Away Teams”. We all live downstream, and it is crucial that we all work together as a community on watershed issues.
For more information check out our website at www.riverrelief.org or start your own “Stream Team,” by clicking here.
see you on the river (syotr)
loveyourbigmuddy expeditions 