Singing Waters: neighborhood group helps keep the riverfront clean

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN

On Sun., Apr. 19 at 10am, members of the environmental group Singing Waters will gather at the White Sand Beach along the Mississippi River. The meeting is the season opener for Singing Waters, and the main event will be picking up trash – lots of trash.

This beach is accessed by taking the stairs near 27th St. and W. River Pkwy. all the way down to water’s edge. It’s a beach that gets a lot of traffic during the day: dog walkers, bird watchers, neighbors out for a stroll. And, judging from the amount of trash left behind on Sunday mornings, quite a crowd is drawn there after dark too.

Singing Waters is currently under the leadership of Trevor Knott, a St. Paul resident who loves this stretch of the Mississippi. A group of friends began clean-up efforts there in 2012, and people just kept coming. The group has adopted the river on the Minneapolis side from the Railroad Bridge at 27th St., south to the Lake St. Bridge.

Their weekly Sunday morning meetings are open to everyone, and they meet rain or shine. The DNR provides gloves and trash bags for clean-up and Knott estimated that the group has collected and hauled out more than 2,000 pounds of garbage since their efforts began. “We’ve picked up everything from cigarette butts to old mattresses,” he said.

Once each quarter during the warm months, the group has what they call a quarterly event. This is what the Apr. 19 gathering will be. In addition to the weekly offerings of singing, music making and trash collecting, there will also be a potluck meal and a group art project.

Knott, who earned his master’s degree in sculpture from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, will bring natural art materials to the beach to create an installation. “It doesn’t matter if someone knocks it down or how long the installation lasts,” Knott said. “Whoever sees it will know that the river here is loved and cared for.”

The Mississippi River, as it flows through the Twin Cities, is so unique that a 72-mile stretch of it was designated national parkland by Congress in 1988 (the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area). It’s unusual in that it is both a national and a regional park at the same time.

The section that Singing Waters has adopted is part of what is called The Gorge. With its towering limestone bluffs, flowing natural springs and surprisingly abundant urban wildlife, it’s a vital link to the natural world in the middle of a major metropolitan area.

The core members of Singing Waters are friends who have known each other for years through meditation circles. In their ongoing practice, meditating on the health of the environment, and specifically water quality, became more important over time. Singing Waters grew out of a desire to bring that practice into action, and was first acted upon by founder Chris Johnson.

The hope for the group now, according to Knott, is to “keep gathering more inspired people together.” Google their Facebook Group Site to find information about conservation and water energetics, and to get news about their upcoming events.

Another excellent source of information for concerned environmentalists is the Friends of the Mississippi River’s website (www.fmr.org). Their Stewardship Guide is downloadable and offers practical steps individuals can take in their homes, yards and communities to help improve the health of the river. Also available is FMR’s assessment of how the river has changed in the 43 years since the passage of the Clean Water Act, called The State of the River Report.

Scott Vreeland, Park Board Commissioner for the district which includes Longfellow said, “I love that folks here feel such a connection to our parks, and that they see themselves as stewards. What Singing Waters has undertaken is making the White Sand Beach and adjoining flood plain forest better for us all. I would encourage everyone to pick up a piece of trash when they go walking, and deposit it in the receptacle near the top of the stairs at 27th St.”