Explore the River with River Action

This summer’s Explore the River Series has been very memorable to say the least! We had our first Channel Cat Talk that was geared towards kids, and it went well. We had many students from the Bettendorf School District on the first Channel Cat Talk, many who had never been out on the Mississippi River before! It was a great first river experience with many birds and sightings along the way.

On our Raptors Along the River Channel Cat Talk, we saw a family of eagles in the tree line along the river in Bettendorf. Two adults and their juvenile child, who still had brown feathers! Dave Murcia with the Wapsi River Environmental Education Center did a great job spotting for us even from far away.

We have heard from many great speakers like Karen Anderson who spoke at the Steam Boating Along the Upper Mississippi River Channel Cat Talk and Matt Johnson who spoke at the Infrastructure Along Pool 15.

If you have not already had the chance, you need to experience the Explore the River Series for yourself! We have our Saving Monarch Butterflies Riverine Walk this week on July 12^th from 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM and July 15^th from 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM. This week’s Riverine Walk will take place at Nahant Marsh Education Center, and you will hear from Paige Burke who is the co-founder of the Quad City Monarch Rescue Team about what their team does to help the declining Monarch Butterfly population. You will even hunt for some Monarch eggs and caterpillars in the prairie around the marsh on Saturday morning!

If butterflies aren’t your thing, we have plenty of other lectures that may peak your interest like River Landscape Mosaic, given by Dr. Norm Moline and Dr. Reuben Heine on August 1^st and 3^rd from 8:45 AM – 10:45 AM. At this Channel Cat Talk, river processes and different environmental issues will be discussed with two very knowledgeable professors from Augustana College. There is also Creepy Quad Cities on August 30^th from 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM and September 2^nd from 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM for our spookier audiences. This Riverine Walk will be given by Michael McCarty who is the co-author of “Eerie Quad Cities” and “Ghosts of the Quad Cities”. You will get to hear all about the creepy tales from the Quad Cities that are featured in Michael’s books.

We have so many different lectures, there is something for everyone! You can check out more of River Action’s Channel Cat Talks and Riverine Walks at our website, riveraction.org/education. You do not want to miss out so sign up soon!