In 2011, Chad Pregracke received a standing ovation from four former U.S. presidents at the Kennedy Center while accepting the Points of Light Award. The short introductory film shown at this ceremony documented Pregracke, founder of Living Lands and Waters, fighting to improve the health of the Mississippi River by removing trash and inspiring others to care. On April 18 he will be in Springfield to present the story of his challenging journey along with his hopeful message during an Earth Day celebration sponsored by local conservation groups. They, like Pregracke, hold tight to the belief that one person can truly make a difference.
Pregracke grew up in East Moline on the banks of the Mississippi River where he still lives today. He witnessed firsthand the staggering amount of trash found both in the water’s depths and along its banks. At age 17 he began single-handedly removing garbage from the river because “nobody seemed to care.” In 1998, at age 23, he formed Living Lands and Waters and began drawing in volunteers and sponsors with his unwavering belief in dreaming big, taking action and persevering.
Videos of Pregracke’s early efforts show a determined young man wrangling tanks and barrels and tires while living aboard a boat that itself was rescued from the trash heap. “Plain and simple, if you see a problem, you can do something about it,” he says. But this particular “problem,” the health of the Mississippi, is enormous. How could Pregracke think himself capable of making even the slightest dent in cleaning up our nation’s longest river? One might chalk it up to the optimistic exuberance of youth, if it were not for the fact that 26 years later his list of accomplishments continues to grow.
An indomitable sense of purpose combined with loads of charm and a great sense of humor – qualities not typically associated with driven environmental advocates – have helped Pregracke continue to connect both with sponsors and thousands of volunteers. Living Lands and Waters now owns a fleet of vessels and industrial-strength equipment capable of removing some of the largest objects found in the river, such as discarded vehicles. Also in the fleet are two classroom barges that speak to the importance of encouraging an environmental conscience in our youth, including one barge called the Mississippi River Institute, designed to remain in a community for several weeks or even a semester. The group’s Facebook page is filled with images of triumphant young people smiling in front of the mountains of trash they helped haul from rivers and shores, sometimes as part of an “alternative spring break.”
The photos of vessels and array of Facebook images provide a visual story of Living Lands and Waters victories. And then there are the hard numbers, perhaps not as engaging but much more astonishing. Pregracke, his crew, and his volunteers are responsible for over 1,400 community cleanups on 25 rivers in 23 states and removal of 13.5 million pounds of garbage. And, oh yes, they have also planted over two million trees in their efforts to reclaim waterfronts.
When Pregracke accepted his award in 2011, he was introduced by former President Jimmy Carter. In 2013, he was named the CNN Hero of the Year. Most recently, Pregracke was featured along with his wife in an NBC news story about the factory they now own in East Moline that converts some of the retrieved plastics, much of which is not accepted by any recycler, into reusable plastic pallets. Pregracke’s many outstanding accomplishments have led to considerable nationwide recognition, and rightfully so. But also at this Earth Day celebration will be people from local conservation groups who may not receive awards but who also step up, who persevere to protect and restore habitat, who teach and inform, and who collaborate to present a yearly gift of environmental hope and inspiration to their community.
Achievements are still possible, they continue and they matter. Pregracke states: “People talk about going out to change the world. To me that sounds overwhelming – ‘the world.’ It’s not about the world. It’s about your world.”
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This article appears in Home and Garden.
