April is Earth Month! This year’s theme is “Invest in Our Planet” and today we’re thrilled to highlight an environmental organization that we are proud to support at Time Timer: Living Lands & Waters.
Founded in 1998, Living Lands & Waters is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that hosts river cleanups, water conservation initiatives, workshops, tree plantings, and more.
Mission Statement
The mission of Living Lands & Waters is “to aid in the protection, preservation, and restoration of the natural environment of the nation's major rivers and their watersheds.”
History of Living Lands and Waters
Headquarters in East Moline, Illinois, Living Lands & Waters was established by Chad Pregracke in 1998, and has grown to be the only “industrial strength” river cleanup organization like it in the world. The Living Lands & Waters crew spends up to nine months a year living and traveling on the barge to run their key conservation efforts!
In addition to protecting, preserving, and restoring the natural environment of major rivers and their watersheds in the U.S., the organization is also committed to expanding awareness of environmental issues and responsibility encompassing rivers, and creating a desire and opportunity for citizens to take an active role in helping to make a cleaner river environment.
Living Lands & Waters has had an incredible impact, removing over 12 million pounds of garbage from U.S. rivers, with the help of over 125,000 volunteers and countless supporters. The organization has also offered educational workshops to over 11,000 students and planted over 1,780,000 trees.
Living Lands & Waters Projects
Living Lands & Waters encourages us to remember that environmental stewardship is everyone’s responsibility. The organization runs several unique environmental conservation projects—with volunteer opportunities to get involved—including river cleanups, the MillonTrees Project, the Adopt-A-River Mile Program, and more.
River Cleanups
The organization hosts dozens of community river cleanups each year to help watershed conservation efforts with the assistance of thousands of volunteers of all ages. Since 1998, Living Lands & Waters has worked on 25 rivers in 21 states and hosted over 1,100 community-based cleanups—find a river cleanup near you!
MillionTrees Project
Living Lands & Waters aims to not only clean up the riverways but also enhance the watershed by planting native trees and removing invasive plants. In 2007, the organization started collecting and planting acorns with the goal of growing one million trees. They reached that goal in 2016 and now they’re aiming for another million! The organization also maintains a tree nursery in Davenport, IA where trees are harvested after 2-3 seasons and new acorns are planted each fall.
Adopt-A-River Mile Program
Adopt-A-River Mile is an opportunity for individuals, families, groups, organizations, and companies to join in the organization’s clean river efforts by “adopting” a mile section of the river shoreline. In 2014, Living Lands & Waters expanded this program to cover all U.S. waterways. Become a river steward.
Living Lands & Waters Education
Living Lands & Waters hosts many educational opportunities throughout the year, including student educational workshops, educator workshops, and summer camps.
Student educational workshops
Educator workshops
The organization also partners with the US Army Corps of Engineers to host free one-day workshops for educators on the Corps’ new curriculum and activities guide, Our Mississippi, in addition to sharing lessons created for workshops in the "Floating Classroom". And while the curriculum is called Our Mississippi, much of the content is also relevant to the entire watershed encompassing the Illinois and Ohio Rivers.
Summer camps and guest speakers
Finally, Living Lands & Waters educators can visit your event or classroom, or even meet campers at summer camps out on the rivers for engaging lessons on keeping our rivers clean and becoming river stewards.
Get Involved
Volunteer
If you would like to get involved, there are many volunteer opportunities through the organization’s environmental conservation projects. Learn more.
Donate
Living Lands and Waters also welcomes donations to help preserve precious land and watersheds, and support their river cleanup projects and educational initiatives. All donations and acts of charity are tax deductible and you will receive a letter of acknowledgment to be used as your tax receipt.
