Brief RK Update

I wanted the you and the kids to know right away that there has been a major change related to the benefit this year.  Chad Pregracke called and told me that they (Living Lands and Waters) need to back out.  They will not be able to be in town because of a schedule conflict.  He and Tammy had been planning to split their efforts between two groups and they decided that wasn't going to work out.

They were hoping that we would be okay with teaming up with them when they are in St. Louis in September instead.  They will have their whole barge here and a cleanup that will already involve hundreds of volunteers without us adding our connections.

They would also have a lot of publicity worked up that we could tie into. So, while our June plans are shot, it makes for an even bigger and more powerful experience in the fall.

I'm sure many of the kids and adults who read this will be disappointed (as was I) in the change, for various reasons.  However, I'm hoping that the vision of perhaps the single largest river cleanup in St. Louis history tied to our event being one of the biggest ever in honor of rivers and river enthusiasts will entice everyone into being positive about the situation. Plus, some of the 6th graders (then 7th graders) will want to get some of their new schoolmates involved.  Could be a great way for these kids to continue their personal interest in helping protect our rivers whether they are still a NCS River Kid or not...

Please NOTE - I will need to speak with the Board about what they would like to do, but my initial thought regarding the June 13 date, was that we keep it and down-size it to become a RK Family party to celebrate the year.  We'd been talking about the idea already, so I thought it was worth considering...the space is already donated, so we can do this at little or no cost.  We could also use it as an RK fundraiser and sell tickets again...this time just to come celebrate River Kids specifically...It could be a really fun New City bash that would raise some funds for the Benefit expenses in the fall - or for the green roof project directly!  Just some ideas that we'll discuss at the next Board Meeting.  Input is welcome.

Hopefully I'll see many of you on March 28 at the cleanup.  If you or your RK would like a ride, meet at NCS a little before 7am.  Please make sure I know you're coming so I don't leave without your child!  I have been told by a couple families already, but if there are more, I'd like to make sure we have room!

Have a phenomenal break!

Ben

Another Smaller Cleanup Opportunity

Got this message about a small group heading out to cleanup the RdP this weekend...if you're free, consider helping out. We were that small group 6 years ago, so I know what it feels like to have even a few people take an interest in helping out with an event...These kids would no doubt get a kick out of knowing that they caused some other people to get off their duffs and do something...The event appears to be in Heman Park...

Ben



Hi folks,

The UCity Varsity Soccer Team is planning a River cleanup along the banks of the river, on Sunday, March 8 from noon til 2 pm.

We welcome the participation of any volunteers who would like to join us there.

We'll meet at the compost pile in the park at Noon and work our way along the river banks to the new footbridge on the west side of the park.

The City has endorsed our volunteer project and is providing trash bags, and pickup service.

Please pass this along to any and all who might be interested!

Thanks,
Amy Ziegler
314-727-1903

Details for March 28 Cleanup

Here are the details for the March 28 Cleanup with Trailnet:

Confluence Trash Bash
Date: Saturday, March 28
Time: 8:00 AM ­ 12:30 PM

Location: Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, 10950 Riverview Drive, St. Louis, MO 63137
Description: Help bring back the splendor of the river at this clean-up event. You can help by volunteering! Lend a hand by participating in the Trash Bash based at the Missouri entrance to the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. Missouri River Relief, one of the program partners, will take volunteers by boat to pre-determined sites along the Mississippi River to pick up trash and debris. We will also be working with Stream Teams at Watkins Creek, Maline Creek, Cold Water Creek and Creve Coeur Creek. Some of the trash collected will be recycled into art during the event by trash artists. Lunch will be provided to all volunteers from 12:30 - 1:30 pm.
Fees: FREE
Registration: 8:00 AM

I'm thinking anyone who wants to carpool should meet at NCS a little before 7am. Otherwise, we will meet you up there at about 8am for registration. It's likely there will be tons of people there, so registering early is easier...

The organizers are great about keeping us all together if we get there and sign in on time...they will have to assign volunteer leaders to us and make arrangements for appropriate transportation to the cleaning sites based on numbers.

NOTE: I am aware that there is a local invasive species removal going on in University City as well, so if it's easier to be there, that's fantastic as well...The Trailnet organizer called us and asked if we were going to be there way back in early fall, so I'm going to make the drive up north...

Let me know if you have any questions specifically about this cleanup. And if this is your first cleanup, I'd be glad to fill you in on what to expect.

Funny story from last year - one fellow found a set of car keys...HIS OWN that he'd lost the year before at the cleanup. NO KIDDING!

I look forward to finding a safe to go with our bag of jewels from last year...

Ben

RK Update

Man, time is flying!!!! Spring Break is rolling up fast! It's March...where have I been?

Anyhoo...here are some quick updates:

Meetings -

Merchandising - This Wednesday 4-5pm in the PA room...we will work on organizing the gear and creating a current pricelist. We will need a ton of help on this. If your RK is interested in helping but hasn't been on this committee, please let me know.

Publicity - Thursday - 4-5pm in the Computer Lab - We may move to the library if the computer lab is needed by Ext. Day.

Full Group Meeting - Friday - 4-5pm -library. We will meet despite the early dismissal. With spring break around the corner, this is our only March meeting. Maddie and Jack will be presenting about their experience in Iowa at the youth conference on sustainability.

Next Week - The only RK activity will be merchandise sales in the hallway after school Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 3:30-4:15...There will be a sign up sheet at the meeting on Friday.

Important Dates:
- March 20-22 - Spring Break adventure for RK families at Camp Sabra.
- March 28 - Biggest cleanup of the year besides our benefit cleanup. Trash Bash at the Chain of Rocks Bridge...This is a "Don't miss it!" cleanup in connection with Trailnet. We need to show up BIG!
- April 26 - St. Louis Earth Day - All Day event
- May 2-3 - RK Annual Camping/Canoeing Trip with Land for Learning
- May 16-17 - River Sisters Camping/Canoeing Trip with Land for Learning
- June 8-12 - Prep Sessions possible for Benefit - as necessary
- June 13-14 - RK BENEFIT - Living Lands and Waters will operate a HUGE cleanup on the Mississippi on Saturday. Then we will be hosting a benefit party on Sunday to celebrate the money raised for RK and LL&W. Keep your calendars clear for that weekend...we will need EVERY family involved as much as possible. We'll need friends and businesses involved as well, so get other people to mark their calendars as well. If all goes well, this may be the single largest cleanup event in St. Louis...ever....or at least until next year.

And some slow updates...

Benefit Info - We are tied to the June 13-14 dates because of LL&W's schedule...I'm hoping the timing may work to our advantage, in that everyone will be more free from academic pressure at the time...However, we need to make sure the event gets the maximum amount of publicity in school and out.

Fundraising - We are attempting to raise more money this year. We haven't set a goal yet, but we are saving much more money on the event and should be able to direct that money to the fundraising. All the money will be split between River Kids and Living Lands and Waters for programs to bring kids out to the rivers. RK will use part of the money to support the development of satellite programs in St. Louis schools.

Entertainment - We have secured Chad Dunn (www.chaddunn.com), Illinois native and phenomenal percussionist, to perform at the event this year. Chad is known for his work in creating instruments from recycled materials, some of which are collected from rivers. He will be hosting a workshop at New City later this year for River Kids. The goal will be to create a short number that is performed at the benefit as part of the show.

Trash to Art - we are working on securing an artist to turn some of the rubbish from the cleanup into art for the benefit. We may even auction it off.

Education at the Event - We will have some help from local organizations to create educational activities for people of all ages at the event.

Toning It Down - In case you hadn't heard, the RK Board made it their mission this year to revamp the benefit to become a more river-centered and less flashy experience for all. It will likely still be at the City Museum and there will be food and drink as well as entertainment, but it will not be a big sit-down dinner, there will be less of a focus on celebrating RK with speeches that many people may unfortunately ignore, and there will be a conscious effort to keep expenses down overall.

Connections - If you have any connections and are willing to use them to support RK this year, please email me. We will need help from many sources
to make this event as amazing as it can be. We are interested in pledges for the event, donations to fund the event, auction items, connections to potential environmentally active guest speakers, etc...

Ideas - if you have any ideas for how to make the benefit the best it can be this year, please send them my way. The kids will be discussing the details of the event in the coming weeks and solidifying their plan of action.

Note, I am not accepting ideas for how to shorten my RK Updates...I love to write.

See you all soon!

Ben

Pics from the RdP Cleanup

View Images Here

Here are some pics from the recent cleanup...that's a huge boatload of 

scrap
metal! Crazy!
Ben

Fwd: The Cleanup This Weekend

Here's the flyer on the cleanup for this weekend.  Thought it might help people find the place.  Please let me know if you have any questions. See you there!

Ben

View attached file here .