Sunday, May 6, 2007
Sioux Passage County Park, Florissant, MO
Another part of River Camp that we completed before the floodwaters came was a Stream Team Clean-up & Summit.
This unique event was designed to bring together Stream Team participants from the area for a day of hard work and fellowship. Smaller numbers of participants gave us opportunities to exchange savvy, stories and contact information, all while picking up trash.
Volunteers loaded into boats and headed just a couple miles upstream to a large dump located on the MegaScout project last fall. A cast iron tub proved no match for these stalwarts. A motorcycle, a cast iron tub and restaurant equipment were loaded like cordwood into our plate boat, Saskia, and returned to the ramp.
MDC fisheries biologist Danny Brown took out a crew of Stream Teamers from Parkway North High School for a “fishing” expedition, picking trash right out of the river from drift racks pushed aside by the rising water. After lunch, crews found an upside down abandoned boat up on the bank. The Stream Teamers put their collective knowledge to work, flipping the boat and pulling it out of the weeds using our plate boat.
As tired crews returned to camp, MRR crews served up a feast of chicken roasted on an open fire as stories of the day were recounted. An evening program hosted by author and MRR coordinator Jeff Barrow accompanied the riverside dinner. Stream Team members had the opportunity to present their activities to the group.
A perfect opportunity for networking among citizen river stewards, right on the banks of the river where we belong.
Total Volunteers: 50
Total Trash Tonnage: 1.4 tons!
Groups Participating: Stream Teams 516, 1573, 211, 1875, 1876, 1; Parkway North Stream Team, St. Louis AmeriCorps ERT
