Empowering Citizens to Take Ownership of Their Neighborhood
By Brian Waldrop, Volunteer Engagement Specialist
Stream Teaming is much more than just cleaning streams; it is about community and empowering people to take ownership of their surroundings.
We all know that trash and litter travel the path of least resistance — like, downhill. That is what happened earlier this year in North County in St. Louis. Beyond Housing, the Greenway Network, Stream Teamers, and the citizens from the City of Wellston came together to take back their city by cleaning the streets, emptying lots, clearing alleyways, and removing all trash and honeysuckle from the neighborhood in just four hours. This clean-up was especially powerful because it included a special location within Greenwood Cemetery where, under the trash, volunteers uncovered headstones that likely hadn’t seen the light of day in years. When all was said and done, the volunteers filled 7 dumpsters and collected 144 mosquito-infested tires.
Like it always is with Missouri Stream Team volunteers, individuals made a significant impact in the clean-up effort. The Mayor of Wellston and his basketball team used their practice time to clean a vacant lot of illegally dumped trash. Volunteers and employees from the Missouri Stream Team Program focused their efforts on the old Central Elementary School grounds. Based on the type of items found, it was determined this trash had been dumped from a site 20 minutes away. Wellston's Ms. Trigg and her 4 valiant public works crew members were everywhere, showcasing their dedication. Even businesses like Honey J's Shack Shop closed their doors for the morning to clean-up an alleyway. Frontend loaders started at one end of each alleyway and scraped all trash and honeysuckle away so that weekly trash service could resume.
The clean-up efforts extended to the sacred grounds of Greenwood Cemetery, where Buffalo Soldiers and Freedom Suit Plaintiff Harriet Scott, along with many other historical figures, are buried. Board members of the Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association, alongside volunteers, worked tirelessly to clear decades of overgrown vegetation-covered trash. For one newly unburied headstone, volunteers took out their water bottles to rinse it off and place it properly back onto its pedestal. It took a special crew to gingerly work amongst century-old headstones, a testament to their respect for the site's historical significance.
We all have our favorite river, but not all have the means to travel to a clear spring-fed stream. Volunteering in your neighborhood or a neighborhood that needs volunteers may be the next best option when looking for your next Missouri Stream Team activity. See you on the river or see you in the neighborhood.
Central Region
Missouri River Relief
Southwest Region
James River Basin Partnership
Watershed Committee of the Ozarks
Saint Louis Region
Greenway Network
Open Space Council
Ozark Fly Fishers
Missouri River Relief
Data Collection and Cleanup with Academy Sherman Park Neighborhood – July 14th
Stream Team Volunteering with Missouri State Parks – 2nd Sunday of Every Month
League of Watershed Guardians Meeting - August 7th
Pine Lawn Community Clean Up - August 17th
River Soundings – September 4th & 5th
Bike With Your Boots On – September 21st
Great River Rendezvous Paddle – September 21st
Statewide
Watershed Celebration – July 27th
Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring
Stream Teams United
PaddleMO
Visit our calendar for more details on any of the above events: Calendar of Events.
Need help advertising your event? Or struggling to recruit volunteers for a clean-up? We are here to help! Submit a request to advertise through our website calendar, or send an email to StreamTeam@mdc.mo.gov to request an ad through a StreamGram or Facebook post.
We Need Your Water Quality Monitoring Data
By Randy Sarver, Stream Team Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program Coordinator/QAQC Officer
For those of you that have attended one of the Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring workshops, have received your equipment, and have done water quality monitoring; there are three reasons below that explain why we need your water quality data.
Please continue to collect water quality data for your own purposes, and to share with us!
Since our last issue of Channels, Stream Team members reported:
Check out more highlights below . . .
SEA LIFE Aquarium – ST#6469
SEA LIFE Aquarium, also known as Stream Team #6469, partnered with Missouri Stream Team to host a clean-up in the Blue River Watershed on June 8, 2024. They cleaned up 245 pounds of trash and had a great time doing it, all to celebrate and bring awareness to World Oceans Day and as a part of Merlin Entertainment’s global beach clean initiative.
North County Stream Teams
Beyond Housing Stream Team #6096, the City of Wellston Stream Team #6691, and the Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association Stream Team #6708 came together to clean up historic and illegal dumping locations across North County this spring. More than 12 tons were removed in three hours.
Jacks Fork River Rats – ST#713
A big “Shout Out” to Jacks Fork River Rats, also known as Stream Team #713! M. Cavalieri and his crew consistently recruit community members and highlight the importance of conservation ethics for the watershed. We appreciate all your efforts and especially having future conservationists involved!
The 100 Club
These are individuals that have contributed more than 100 hours since the last issue:
HB2134 Crosses the Finish Line – State 2024 Legislative Session Results
By Mary Culler, Stream Teams United Executive Director
The spring 2024 state legislative session was one to remember. In the legislative world of water, we saw legislation that proposed to remove Missouri Clean Water Law protections from intermittent streams and groundwater, which would have undoubtedly legalized pollution of headwater streams and drinking water sources for thousands of Missourians. Water advocates filled the hearing room when Senate Bill 981 was heard, with the majority of people present testifying against this “bad waters of the state bill”. On the flip side, state Representatives Ed Lewis, Dirk Deaton, and Senator Jill Carter, worked to strengthen our state’s law related to land application of industrial wastewater, in response to the public outcry of people in the communities being impacted by out-of-state owned operations spreading food processing waste in southwest Missouri and proposed industrial wastewater storage basins in central Missouri. Again, water advocates and community members filled the hearing rooms when House Bill 2134 was heard, with the vast majority of people asking for the state legislature to take action to protect Missouri waterways and the communities that would be impacted by these operations. In the end, clean water prevailed this legislative session, with the “bad waters of the state bills” being defeated, and House Bill 2134 passing in both the House and the Senate by an overwhelming majority of support by our state legislators.
From 2016-2019, several pieces of legislation passed the Missouri state legislature, which acted to slowly chip away at the authority of the Missouri Clean Water Law. With the last year of extreme drought throughout most of Missouri, and communities being impacted by out-of-state companies bringing waste to land apply in Missouri, the issue of the importance of water as a clean, abundant resource has become a topic of primary importance with our state lawmakers. This spring, we began to see an awakening within the state legislature of the importance of both the quantity and quality of Missouri water resources, and for the first time in years, action to protect Missouri’s water supply through new state policy.
Over 2,600 bills and resolutions were filed by state legislators for the 2024 regular session. Of these bills and resolutions, only 49 of these were “truly agreed to and finally passed” by the state legislature. Of these 49 bills, 18 were appropriations bills authorizing funding for the state budget, and the other 31 bills and resolutions were related to other topics. You can see the list of Truly Agreed to and Finally Passed bills here on the senate website. Stream Teams United tracked 270 bills and resolutions this session, that were bills related to the environment or were bills of interest to the environmental community. Of those 270 bills, four made it across the finish line. Of most interest related to water quality, House Bill 2134 passed, which as described above, provides more stringent requirements related to land application of industrial wastewater in Missouri.
So progress was made this spring, to increase protections of Missouri’s land, water, and residents. Detrimental proposals were defeated, for now. What was clear indeed, was that Missouri residents want clean and abundant water and are ready to speak up for water protections. We invite all Missourians and visitors to our “Great Rivers State” to be involved as water advocates. If you are not yet receiving weekly advocacy and water news updates from Stream Teams United, sign up for our weekly newsletter at streamteamsunited.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @mostreamteam. Together, we will continue to build the community of water advocates in Missouri.
2nd Quarter Activity Prize Drawing
2nd Quarter Prizes:
High Rise Pillowtop Camping Airbed
Equip. 2-Person Travel Hammock
Heavy Duty 2 pk. Tie Downs
Youth Prize:
Youth Premium Tackle Box
Fill out an Activity Report for your past or upcoming events, and you could win a prize next quarter!
Welcome Sheryl!
Please welcome Missouri Stream Team’s newest member, Sheryl Vasquez. Here is a message from her to you, her volunteers:
“Hello. My name is Sheryl and I am the new Volunteer Engagement Assistant in Kansas City, MO. I grew up in the Mississippi River Valley in Northwestern Illinois surrounded by creeks, rivers, and forests. My love for the outdoors started with family campouts, summer camps and playing in the creek behind my home and it has grown into a passion for teaching others to love it, too. For the past five years I have worked for a local outdoor outfitter in customer service and outdoor skills instructing.
I attended Western Illinois University and studied Philosophy and Law and Society. But my year of AmeriCorps service in Health & Safety with the American Red Cross is where I found my niche for instructing and my admiration for volunteer service. After my year of service, I stayed on at the Red Cross as a First Aid and CPR instructor and eventually became the Disaster Education and Volunteer Coordinator. In that position I learned the vital role that volunteer's play in our society and how essential volunteer service is.
I feel like my new role as the Volunteer Engagement Assistant ties everything together for me. My love for the outdoors and my admiration for Volunteers and their service to our community. I promise to do my best to support our current volunteers and to inspire more members of our community to join us.”
Sheryl will be serving as the Volunteer Engagement Assistant in the Kansas City Region, and will be engaging with volunteers throughout the north half of the state.
Empowering Citizens to Take Ownership of their Neighborhood
Save the Dates!
Monitoring Minute
Riffle Review
Coalition Corner
Activity Prizes
Welcome Sheryl!
Summer 2024