'A way to stay connected': 3 volunteers on the joys of stewarding the river with loved ones
Volunteering with friends and loved ones gives volunteers a chance to build memories together while doing good for the river. (Photo by Tamar Patterson for FMR)
In all-too-busy lives, it can be challenging to find time to connect with the people we love and do some good in the world. As Friends of the Mississippi River's volunteer program manager, I wanted to highlight a few members of the FMR community who have found a way to do both — by volunteering with their friends and family at FMR events.
Edward and his adult daughter Alex
Alex Carroll started volunteering with FMR with her father, Edward Carroll, when Alex was in high school. Since 2015, this father-daughter duo has teamed up to tackle almost every type of FMR volunteer event, including buckthorn hauls, garlic mustard pulls, sumac lops, tree plantings, trash cleanups, seed collections and storm drain stenciling. Together, they've contributed nearly 200 volunteer hours to FMR.
Noted Alex, "We both enjoy working hard and getting muddy and then seeing the results of our efforts: the transformation of a dense buckthorn stand to an open and light-filled understory. It's very satisfying to stand next to a huge buckthorn pile at the end of the day."
Alex has always been interested in nature, but she said volunteering with FMR and interacting with FMR ecologists as a volunteer and an intern opened her eyes to new possibilities for STEM careers. She currently monitors pollinators as a field biologist.
Alex reflected, "As I've grown up and life has gotten busy, FMR events have offered a way to stay connected with my dad. It's something we can do outside together on a Saturday morning, and we're always eager to explore a new natural area around the Twin Cities."
Tene and her young son Cajetan
Tene Campbell has volunteered at FMR with her son Cajetan since 2023. Cajetan was 10 when he and Tene joined their first FMR outing, a storm drain stenciling and trash cleanup at Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary in St. Paul organized through Tene's workplace.
They returned together to plant trees in the Mississippi River Gorge and pick up litter at FMR's annual Earth Day cleanup. Recalled Tene about Cajetan: "He had such a blast planting the trees by the river. It was really hard work, but it was just great having him down there by the river, just getting him in nature and being there with everyone else."
For Tene, stewardship and doing good for others are values she tries to weave into everyday life, whether it's offering food to unhoused neighbors or picking up litter with Cajetan while they're out for a walk. When Tene was growing up, her parents emphasized that we all benefit from being part of a community and that it's important to give back. Volunteering with FMR is a way for her to live out that value with her son.
"It brings us closer together," Tene shared. "For my son to get to know that side of me and to explore for himself what helping means is a full circle experience."
Alex and their partner Ruben and friends
Some FMR staff also enjoy inviting loved ones to become FMR volunteers. FMR Accounting Manager Barb Heintz frequently volunteers with her husband Lowell and their son Joshua. Since joining the FMR staff in May 2024, Stewardship & Education Program Associate Alex Jabbarpour has also enthusiastically recruited their friends and their partner, Ruben Schneiderman, to volunteer at FMR events.
At one event, Ruben and Alex stenciled storm drains in St. Paul's Hamline-Midway neighborhood with a group of their friends to spread the word about keeping pollutants out of the river.
"It was nice to do something that was helping the area while having some quality time together," Ruben recalled.
Ruben and Alex also invited friends visiting from out of town to join them at a community buckthorn brush haul, where over a hundred volunteers piled up small mountains of buckthorn to clear space for native plants to flourish.
Ruben reflected about the brush haul, "It was lovely to be outside and working with our hands and having good conversations while we were doing it."
What to know if you want to volunteer with kids:
Volunteering with children can be extremely rewarding. It also takes extra effort and care to ensure that younger volunteers have a positive, encouraging experience and that events run smoothly and accomplish stewardship goals.
Not all volunteer experiences will work well for young children. For instance, our buckthorn hauls are only open to youth over age 15 due to the nature of the work and the types of tools used. The good news is that a wide range of opportunities can work beautifully for younger river stewards. These include:
- Trash cleanups, including our annual Earth Day trash cleanup in the Mississippi River Gorge: Younger volunteers love to use trash grabbers to nab litter and keep the river cleaner!
- Storm drain stenciling: Stenciling works best for children aged 10 and up, although some younger children can participate with one-on-one adult help and supervision.
- Native prairie seed collection and cleaning: Prairie seed collection or cleaning are peaceful, low-impact activities that volunteers as young as four or five can do well with adult help.
- Garlic mustard removal: This kind of volunteering is best for ages 12 and up, simply because it's important to remove garlic mustard roots and all. Younger children may be able to do this task well with ample adult coaching and guidance.
All are welcome
At FMR volunteer events, all are welcome, whether you come as an individual or with someone you know. When you attend a volunteer event, you become a part of our river stewardship community. Volunteers are always welcome to find a quieter spot to work on their own if they crave solitude during a volunteer event. But if you're open to it, you'll have opportunities to connect with other volunteers and FMR staff while you stay busy together doing good for the river.
My now-adult children's memories of pulling garlic mustard with me are not all rosy (my daughter mainly remembers a lot of mosquitoes). But I love that by joining me at FMR restoration sites, my son and daughter saw that even in the face of dire problems and challenges, there are people who care enough to show up and help.
They also experienced the undeniable truth that small individual actions, joined with other people's efforts over time, can add up to something so much bigger than we can accomplish on our own.
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