Who We Are
Iowa Project AWARE — A Watershed Awareness River Expedition — is the state’s largest river cleanup event. The event educates participants while improving the health of Iowa’s rivers and streams.
Clean water and recreational opportunities — including paddlesports, hunting, and fishing — are a crucial part of Iowa’s economy and quality of life. Through the AWARE cleanup event, we are working to build a community actively engaged in enjoying and maintaining Iowa’s watersheds.
A Community of Enthusiasts
In addition to the direct impact of our cleanup effort, Iowa Project AWARE is committed to providing an opportunity for all participants to learn, explore, and experience:
- Regional history, cultures, and archaeology
- Geology and ecology of the watershed
- Safe and responsible approaches to paddling and enjoying waterways
- Know-how and confidence to conduct a cleanup on their own
Our approach enables participants to join a growing community of passionate volunteers taking the lessons they’ve learned during our event to their local region. This expands the reach of our program and creates additional opportunities to support clean rivers.
See the awards and recognition we’ve received for our work.
What We’ve Accomplished
Iowa Project AWARE has amassed some impressive stats:
- 5,908 volunteers from across the country have been part of our effort
- 1,371 river miles have been cleaned
- 958,121 pounds of trash have been removed
- 81% of trash has been recycled
- 50 additional cleanup events inspired or advised by AWARE
Our most recent effort focused on the West Fork of the Des Moines River watershed. We brought together hundreds of volunteers to clean up 61 river miles in north-central Iowa.
Leadership
Iowa Project AWARE is led by a volunteer board, including:
- Brian Soenen, Board Chairman
- Dan Ceynar
- Mary Hyland
- Chuck Jacobsen
- Cheryl Long
- Liz Maas
- Tom Osborne
- Laura Waldo-Semken
- Seth Zimmermann
Advisors
- Mike Birmingham
- Rick Dietz
- Shawn Hawks
- Mel Jacobsen
- Greg Long
- Lynette Seigley
- Luke Wright
- Jeff White
- Ryan Ceynar
N-Compass, Inc.
The non-profit behind Iowa Project AWARE, N-Compass, Inc., was formed in order to ensure the continued success of the event and associated programs. It is an all-volunteer organization with no paid employees.. N-Compass, Inc. is an independent organization, registered with the State of Iowa as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.