The Kansas Riverkeeper and Friends of the Kaw
are Proud to Host Patagonia’s Wild and Scenic Film Festival for a Seventh Year

on Thursday, May 5 at 7:00pm at Cinetopia Theatre
at Prairie Fire, 5724 West 136th Terrace, Overland Park, Kansas

and Friday, May 6 at 7:00pm at Liberty Hall Theatre
at 644 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, Kansas

(You can also buy tickets in advance at their box office.)

Adult Tickets $15
(suggested donation)

Student and Teacher Tickets are FREE!
Courtesy of the Westar Green Team

Must RSVP to 785 312 7200 or contact
Dawn. (Grade school, middle school and high school students must be accompanied by a teacher or parent.)

All proceeds benefit Friends of the Kaw, a grassroots, non-profit, conservation organization that sponsors the Kansas Riverkeeper.

FOK Members Only Raffle!
Win a Wilderness Systems Aspire 105
Kayak (in red)!
Value of $750

Donated by Sunflower Outdoor & Bike and the FOK Board of Directors.

Tickets $10 (suggested donation). Non-members can join for $15 and purchase a ticket for $10!

Drawing will be held at the conclusion of the Wild & Scenic Film Festival on Friday, May 6 at Liberty Hall in Lawrence. Need not be present to win!

Volunteers needed for both locations of Film Festival!

If you can help us at the film festival please e-mail Dawn.

Volunteers needed for the Film Festival for both May 5 at Cinetopia and May 6 at Liberty Hall:

· Set-up – 2 volunteer (6:30pm-7:30pm)
Arrive at Leawood Theater and assist staff in setting up raffle, membership, merchandise, and other tables. Help hang banners.

· Clean-up – 1 volunteer (9pm-9:30pm)
Assist staff in packing up materials and loading into vehicles.

· Greeters – 2 volunteers (6:45-7:45pm)
Stand at entrance and greet all guests, answer any questions anyone has, direct to theater and outreach tables.

· Ticket sales, Education Will call – 1 volunteer (6:30-7:30pm)
check in will call list for free educational tickets and add non-RSVP educational guests

· Merchandise table – 1 volunteer (6:30-7:30, 9-9:30- before and after program)
Collect payment for any Friends of the Kaw merchandise sales. You will be trained on taking payments.

· Membership/Outreach table – 2 or 3 volunteers (6:30-7:30, 9-9:30- before and after program and during intermission)
Man the outreach booth and hand out membership forms, river maps and just talk about the Kaw! Register attendees for door prizes and sell Kayak Raffle tickets to members for $10 each.

· Photographer – 1 volunteer (6:30-9:30pm)
Photograph the event

Join us this Saturday, April 16 at the
Topeka Green Fair

Stop by and see what we have going on this year!

 MANHATTAN is the PLACE TO BE this weekend!

Come see the Reel Paddle Film Festival, then join us for
the Little Apple Paddle on Saturday and Sunday.

 Hike along the Kansas River at Kaw State Park this Saturday, April 16. 

April 16 — Have you stood on the edge of your Kansas River and experienced its beauty? Join Lawrence Parks and Recreation on a hike through an extensive oak-hickory forest on steep slopes with beautiful views of the Kansas (Kaw) river. A Friends of the Kaw member will be on hand to discuss the Kansas river. The trip leaves from Sports Pavilion Lawrence. Sign up on the City of Lawrence website.

Join us for these Community Events sponsored by our Johnson County Stormwater Quality Education Grant!

Two Streamway Trail Litter Pickups on Sunday, April 3, 2013 from 12 noon to 4pm:

Little Cedar Creek Streamway Trail – Meet at Firestone Complete Auto Care parking lot, 1200 W. Santa Fe, Olathe.

Clear Creek Streamway Trail – Meet at Monticello Trails Middle School, 6100 Monticello, Shawnee.

Participants must wear long pants and closed-toe shoes or boots that can get wet and muddy.

Turkey Creek Bike Ride and Litter Pickup on Saturday, June 4, 2016 from 9am to noon – This is National Trails Day! Meet at Chatlain Park, 6300 Carter, Merriam.

Educational Cleanup Floats on Saturday, June 18 from 10am to 2pm and on Sunday, July 10 from 1 to 5pm from the De Soto Access Ramp to the Cedar Creek Access Ramp. Reservations are a must as floats are limited to 20 paddlers each. Children ages 5 to 14 are welcome to participate as passengers in a canoe. All participants must wear a provided life jacket while on the water and sign a liability waiver.

Reservations for the Streamway Trail litter pickups (including the bike ride) are suggested, but they are a MUST for the cleanup floats. RSVP by contacting the Kansas Riverkeeper, Dawn Buehler by email or at 785 312 7200. Refreshments and supplies are provided for each cleanup!

Water Testing and Training for Kids About Water classes for Argentine Middle School

As part of Friends of the Kaw’s EPA Environmental Justice Small Grant, we are holding a training for volunteers to help us with our Kids About Water (KAW) classes for Argentine Middle School the first week of March. The training will be held on Tuesday, March 1 from 4:30 to 6pm on the 2nd floor conference room at 21 N. 12th Street, Kansas City Kansas.

For more information or to make a reservation for the training or KAW class please call Laura at 913 963 3460 or send an email. You will learn how to assist trained instructors to help students do non-chemical and chemical tests, and also the procedure to seine and identify macro invertebrates (insects that live in the water). Friends of the Kaw education staff will assist our high school interns (also a project sponsored by our EJ grant) in training volunteers on March 1.

We will test water with Argentine Middle School 7th grade science classes on Thursday, March 3,  Friday, March 4, and Monday, March 7 from 9:55 to 11:15; 11:30 to 12:35, and 1:30 to 2:45.  We welcome both trained and new volunteers to help out with as many classes as possible. We plan to be testing water at a location on Turkey Creek, but using our first choice location depends on availablity. Water testing will be done at the school if the weather does not cooperate.  We will know the location of the water testing for Argentine Middle School on March 1 and can also email or call any participants who have volunteered.

Join EPA to recognize and kick off Friends of the Kaw’s current Environmental Justice small grant at 7pm on Thursday, January 7, 2016 just before the Unified Government Board of Commissioners meeting at City Hall (701 N. 7th Street, Kansas City, KS 66101).

This grant features the Kids About Water (KAW) Project that will focus on providing students and adults in Wyandotte County, Kansas, with hands-on experiences and opportunitites to learn how climate change may impact water quality and public health in their community. Students from three  Kansas City, Kansas public schools will participate in the KAW Curriculum – an Issues and Actions Approach to Water Quality Education.

Alicia Kates from Mid American Regional Council talking to Harmon High School science students about careers in the environmental field.

Environmental Justice small grants program provides financial assistance to community-based organizations like Friends of the Kaw and local tribal governments that work on local solutions to address local environmental or public health issues. The Office of Environmental Justice works to ensure that the program helps to build the capacity of communities and support the creation of self-sustaining community-based partnerships that address environmental and public health issues. For more information click here or contact:

 
Pamela Houston, U.S. EPA Community Emngagement Specialist
houston.pamela@epa.gov
913-551-7699

The Perfect Day to Support the Kaw!

GivingTuesday was created to unite everyone in a day of generosity. It’s a day to make a difference any way you choose as we all start this holiday season.

How you can you participate in GivingTuesday? Make a donation today to Friends of the Kaw to help protect and preserve the Kansas River for present and future generations. Whether it’s to educate about water quality, advocate for the river, or protect the river from dredging, your donation impacts our local Kansas River in a very big way. We hope you can join us in 2016, whether in donation of money, time, or simply your support!

Thank you for your dedication to Friends of the Kaw not just on GivingTuesday, but every day!

Click here to donate today!

Membership

Are you a member of Friends of the Kaw? You can join us today for just $15.00! When you donate to our organization, you increase our voice and help us protect and preserve the Kansas River! We want to raise the profile of Friends of the Kaw…won’t you join us today? You can join via paypal on our website or mail your donation to PO Box 1612, Lawrence, KS 66044.

Other Donations

Do you have something you would like to donate to Friends of the Kaw? We accept donations of anything that would help to run our program, including canoes, kayaks, life jackets, etc.

As always, thank you for your continued support of our efforts to protect and preserve the Kansas River. If you have any concerns or would like to help with our mission, please contact the Riverkeeper!

Reminder! – We need volunteers for this Saturday!

Come join us this Saturday, November 7, 2015 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at the gorgeous Kaw Point Park in Kansas City, Kansas for a cleanup day. Activities will include cleaning up trash, collecting leaves and whatever else needs to be done. We will also enjoy a hotdog roast! Questions contact the Riverkeeper via email or call 785.312.7200. See you there!

If you have a favorite spot along the Kansas River that you feel needs cleanup efforts, please email the Riverkeeper or call 785.312.7200.

Membership

Are you a member of Friends of the Kaw? You can join us today for just $15.00! When you donate to our organization, you increase our voice and help us protect and preserve the Kansas River! Help us raise the profile of Friends of the Kaw! You can join via PayPal or mail your donation to PO Box 1612, Lawrence, KS 66044.

Other Donations

Do you have something you would like to donate to Friends of the Kaw? We accept donations of anything that would help to run our program, including canoes, kayaks, life jackets, etc.

As always, thank you for your continued support of our efforts to protect and preserve the Kansas River. If you have any concerns or would like to help with our mission, please contact the Riverkeeper!

Thank you to everyone that joined us this season on the Kansas River. As the new Riverkeeper this year, I learned a great deal and met some amazing people. The float season did not quite go as planned, but when Mother Nature is in control, nothing is as we plan! We finally got on the Kansas River at the end of July and were able to complete all of our educational floats by the end of October. Thank you to everyone…for your donations to Friends of the Kaw, for your patience as I learned the ropes, and for the new friendships that we created along the way. ~RK

Cleanup Projects – Volunteers Needed

Come join us on Saturday, November 7, 2015 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at the gorgeous Kaw Point Park in Kansas City, Kansas for a cleanup day. Activities will include cleaning up trash and collecting leaves and whatever else needs to be done. RSVP to the Riverkeeper or call 785.312.7200.

Stay tuned…we are scheduling a cleanup of Jersey Creek in Kansas City, Kansas. We hope to announce a date and details soon!

If you have a favorite spot along the Kansas River that you feel needs cleanup efforts, please email the Riverkeeper or call 785.312.7200.

Kids About Water (KAWS) Volunteer Training

We are having a training session for volunteers that want to help us with our Kids About Water (KAWS) Education Program! The KAW Project is a five-lesson water quality issues and actions curriculum that targets students in grades 6-12 classrooms and other educational organizations. Our Volunteer Training will take place:

Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Time: 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Place: K-State Olathe

RSVP to Laura Calwell at 913.963.3460 or via email.

Membership

Are you a member of Friends of the Kaw? You can join us today for just $15.00! When you donate to our organization, you increase our voice and help us protect and preserve the Kansas River! We want to raise the profile of Friends of the Kaw…won’t you join us today? You can join via paypal on our website at https://kansasriver.org/donate/ or mail your donation to PO Box 1612, Lawrence, KS 66044.

Donations

Do you have something you would like to donate to Friends of the Kaw? We accept donations of anything that would help to run our program – including canoes, kayaks, life jackets, etc.

Float Assistants and Volunteers

If you are interested in becoming an FOK float assistant or volunteer, email the Riverkeeper at Riverkeeper@kansasriver.org to get your name on our volunteer e-mail list! We send out requests for volunteers as needed and would love to have you join us.

As always, thank you for your continued support of our efforts to protect and preserve the Kansas River. If you have any concerns or would like to help with our mission, please contact the Riverkeeper!

Wishing everyone a wonderful fall season!