Chad Pregracke: Cleaning Up Rivers One Barrel At a Time

By: JaneCameron Williamson, Lila Welsh, and Raul Barreda

On the night of July 9th, the founder of Living Lands and Water came to speak to the campers of 2013’s Redesigning Our Future. His light hearted nature and exciting storytelling caught the audience and kept their attention as he told the staff and campers about his journey from being a seventeen year old kid with a dream of cleaning up 435 miles of the Mississippi to being the owner of a national organization working to clean up America’s major rivers.

During an interview we found out about his book "From the Bottom Up" and about his Alternative Spring Break for college students.

Also he spoke about his rise to fame with the help of his sponsors.

He was extremely humble and liked to focus on helping clean the river as a group instead of as his own independent project.

He showed the group two news videos. One of which was featured on CNN in 1997.



Photos by: Raul Barreda

 

The Mississippi River on PowerPoint at the Presentation 

Low Water Levels Show What the River Looks Like When Not Full to the Banks

 



 

Chad and His Crew Lived and Worked in a House Boat at the Beginning
 

 

 As the Organization Grew, the Company was Able to Expand to a Barge
 

 

The Work Room Looks Pretty "Slick" for a Floating Office Space

Chad Pregracke - Cleaning Up Our Rivers One Tire at a Time
And Now with Barge Loads at a Time