‘Iowa tourism from the seat of a canoe’
When AWARE (A Watershed Awareness River Expedition) launched on July 10 at the Iowa-Minnesota state line in northeastern Iowa, 469 volunteers were set to clean a 55-mile stretch of the upper Cedar River. In five days, they removed 28 tons of trash from the section of river that flows through Mitchell and Floyd Counties.
This was not a new experience for many. About half the volunteers were AWARE veterans who previously had helped revive a portion of another Iowa river by dredging out scrap metal, household appliances, equipment, tires and other trash dumped or abandoned in the river.
Project AWARE 2017
Upper Cedar River – Mitchell and Floyd Counties
Trash removed = 28 tons
- Scrap metal = 15 tons
- Tires = 368
- Recyclable = 88 percent
Volunteers = 469
- From Iowa and 14 other states
Participants = Ages 2 to 77
River miles = 55
Rookie volunteers may have expected the manual labor, working in often knee-high mud, and the personal reward that comes with this hands-on stewardship project. Lesser known rewards may have been the opportunities to learn about life in and around the river through demonstrations of fish shocking and the benthic macroinvertebrate program conducted by SHL staff, and a trip to the Fossil & Prairie Park Preserve and Center.
“It’s more than just a river clean-up,” said Lynette Seigley, AWARE coordinator who has been involved with the event since its inception in 2003.
“Through the educational programs that are offered in the evenings, volunteers learn about the cultural and natural history of the area along with what makes the area unique and special. It’s Iowa tourism from the seat of the canoe.”
Five SHL staff members were part of the 2017 AWARE event staff with duties that included hauling and sorting the sometimes unwieldy trash collected from the river. All are AWARE veterans: Mike Birmingham (12 years), Travis Morarend (12), Seth Zimmermann (12), Mark Johnston (10) and Kyle Skoff (5).
The State Hygienic Laboratory is one of 90 AWARE sponsors.
“Project AWARE doesn’t happen without individuals, organizations and agencies that help plan the event to the sponsors who provide monetary and in-kind donations to support the event to the volunteers who give of their time,” Seigley said.
“Project AWARE is a clean-up community that involves teamwork; camaraderie; and people from all walks of life, ages, backgrounds, all parts of Iowa and beyond, all paddling experience levels working together for a common cause.”
