Living Lands & Waters has spent the past several weeks docked in Owensboro, pulling trash from the Ohio River and welcoming hundreds of local students aboard its barge for hands-on lessons.
The crew arrived just before Labor Day weekend and quickly began cleanups with corporate partners including Cargill and ADM in Owensboro and nearby Evansville. This week’s focus has shifted to education, with students from Owensboro Public Schools, Cannelton Independent Schools, and other districts taking part.
About 33 students joined Wednesday’s session, while more than 100 students participated each day earlier in the week. Another large group is expected Friday.
“Education is a huge part of the mission,” said communication specialist Callie Schaser. “Bringing the students to the river is a huge thing … Some of them have never even been on the water before.”Â
She added that seeing participants conquer fears or share their experiences at home is “great publicity for us … that they go home and learn something and take something away.”
Onboard operations are expansive: the group brought four barges — a house barge, trash barge, hopper barge, and excavator barge — along with two towboats. Schaser said Owensboro has been welcoming.
“It’s been awesome,” she said. “We get lots of trash. It’s been beautiful weather, a couple storms, but it’s been awesome.”
After wrapping up in Owensboro, the crew will continue upriver to Cincinnati for more cleanups and student outreach.
Living Lands & Waters was founded in 1998 by then-23-year-old Chad Pregracke, who grew up along the Mississippi River. What started as a solo mission has grown into the only full-time “industrial strength” river cleanup organization in the world. The group spends up to nine months a year living and working from its barges, leading river cleanups, watershed conservation projects, tree-planting drives, and educational programs.
Since its founding, the nonprofit has worked with more than 135,000 volunteers to remove over 13.5 million pounds of trash from U.S. rivers, while educating nearly 30,000 students and planting more than 2.3 million trees.
