Recycled Mississippi Boat

Vicksburg, MS waterfront.

My Facebook friend, Layne Logue, took pictures Saturday of some young men making their way down the second longest river in the USA on a boat made from recycled and reclaimed materials.  I'm sharing this amazing trip with you if you want to check out their journey on the Mighty Mississippi.  

Recycled Mississippi made it to Vicksburg, Mississippi Saturday and topped off their drinking water. They are raising awareness about pollution...so that we can keep our beautiful rivers beautiful. And the Mississippi River IS beautiful.

They made Natchez yesterday (Sunday July 31)...and they're planning on going past Venice out the South Pass to the Gulf of Mexico.

Here is a great News interview video from New Zealand of what they are doing. It's a little funny hearing them talk about the Mississippi River in the end.

http://tvnz.co.nz/…/kiwi-expats-craft-incredible-recycled-r…

From their website http://recycledmississippi.org

"We are on a quest to travel the length of the second longest river in the USA on a boat made from recycled and reclaimed materials. Our goal is to produce a documentary. Its purpose is to follow the challenges of a journey on trash, to unearth the reason behind why the Mississippi River is one of the most polluted in the world, and to tell the story of how local communities along the river have been affected by its pollution and their efforts to clean and restore it. The film will be submitted to film festivals and be made freely available to teachers and students around the world to help educate about giving waste a second life and protecting our waterways."

~The Team~

DAN CULLUM - EXPEDITION LEADER

Dan has been leading 'recycled expeditions' on kayaks made from plastic bottles in his spare time for the past three years. His passion for the environment began in University when he worked on a short film about creative ways to integrate sustainability education into the classroom that won a United Nation's Film Competition. Dan has spoken at numerous events around the world about his work in youth social movements and sustainability, including: World Economic Forum, TEDxChristchurch, and The United Nations Rio+2- Conference on Sustainable Development.

GARY BENCHEGHIB - FILMMAKER / PRODUCER

Gary is a filmmaker and environmental activist. Witnessing his home island of Bali change from a tropical paradise to a congested playground for the world's economic elite, with trash overflowing it's once picturesque beaches, he founded Make A Change Bali at 14-years old: a non-profit organization aimed at educating the local community about the effects of plastic waste and the importance of sustainable waste management. His latest project The Reclamation is a documentary exploring Tolak Reklamasi, one of the biggest environmental movements in the history of Indonesia, reach over 3 million people and obtaining write ups including Rolling Stone Magazine, CNN, and ABC Radio Australia.

LIVIO KNOERI - ENGINEER

Livio is a Swiss Engineer and is responsible for the overall design and build of the Recycled Mississippi catamaran. During university Livio was a core member of the Pangaea Project Community in Europe, a group of students that ran environmental camps and clean-ups across Germany and Serbia.

HANNES STAUFFER - ENGINEER

Hannes is the other half of Recycled Mississippi's Swiss Engineering duo, responsible for the woodwork and mechanical componentry of the Recycled Mississippi catamaran. Hannes brings a wealth of experience in survival tactics and long term expeditions from being the Swiss Army and travelling across the Sahara Desert and the Australian Outback.

SEBASTIAN ENGELHART - SKIPPER

Sebastian is an American citizen born and raised in Hong Kong. Seb grew up sailing and brings invaluable on the water experience to the team that will help ensure safe passage down the Mississippi River. He has also spent a lot of time in the outdoors on expeditions in Southern Africa and along the Great Wall of China, and via competing in ultramarathons across Asia. Seb is currently studying at the University of Pennsylvania.

HUBBUB

HEAD OF INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES

Hubbub is a creative arts company that will provide innovative technologies for your businesses to develop an image and establish active engagements in the community. We work to create memorable experiences with public installations of art that can be used to engage with the audience with new and exciting possibilities.

Hubbub's role in this expedition is to provide a system that allows the world to track the journey as it happens. As the boat and it's crew float down the river, information about the water quality and environment will be added to the online map, allowing the whole world to be part of the expedition.