Some middle school students in northwest Iowa are learning first hand about the importance of the Missouri River. Over 1,200 sixth-graders from both Sioux City Community Schools and South Sioux City, across the river in Nebraska, will be taking a trip to the riverfront on Friday.
Desiree McCaslen is with the Sioux City Wastewater Treatment Plant. “We’ve put together 24 educational booths that are everything environmental — things that kids don’t see in the classroom and that the teachers may not have resources to,” McCaslen says. The event on Friday is being held as a precursor to an annual river clean up on Saturday from 9am until noon.
Participants will be taken by boat out to a clean-up area. “We’ve cleaned up about 30 tons of trash from the river over the last few years,” McCaslen says. Many of the students are planning to help with the cleanup effort on Saturday. Others who are interested in volunteering can just show up at 9am at the Scenic Park Boat Ramp in South Sioux City. Gloves, trash bags, life jackets and lunch will be provided.
(Reporting by Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)