The Platte River travels North for a little while (yes, north) and then flows East into the Missouri River just South of Omaha, Nebraska. From there, the Missouri River meanders across the middle of the United States until it intersects with the Mississippi River in St. Louis which eventually spills into the Gulf of Mexico. Don’t believe me, you can Google it yourself. Yes, I traced the path much like I probably did during a 6th grade social studies class when I was once again dreaming about being out in the wild, and not confined to a composite wood desk and rigid metal chair. Sorry Ms. Cook, you were a much better Language Arts/Writing teacher, as I hope this post proves.
Their work has tremendous value when you realize that just over 500 miles Southeast of the Mississippi River Delta in Dry Tortugas National Parks lies one of Teens4Oceans partner research stations and another one of their View into the Blue cameras. Annually, Teens4Oceans leads students from their high school chapters to the Florida Keys & Dry Tortugas National Park (along with many other locations in Mexico, British & U.S. Virgin Islands, Channel Islands, and the Grand Cayman Islands – find out how you can get involved here). Chapter members participate in expeditionary learning experiences that include scientific research, field studies, and service learning, often to protect the reefs affected by human and animal behaviors upstream.
As Pascal says “The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble.” Perhaps these seemingly small efforts by the young people from Teens4Oceans will go a long way in protecting our oceans and bettering our world. Let’s hope their work Saturday is only the beginning.