Drift South Expedition: Supporting Research and Building Community, From Headwaters to Gulf
Open the newsletter
Guest Blog via Drift South Expedition
Background: Drift South Expedition is a source-to-sea paddling initiative making its way down our Mighty Mississippi in the Fall of 2025. One Mississippi has partnered with Drift South Expedition to help amplify their cause and efforts. Read on for more about Drift South Expedition and how to get involved!
Drift South Expedition: A Way You Can Help
Drift South Expedition (DSE) is a science support group run by volunteers. We are amplifying, supporting, and encouraging those who serve the Mississippi River. We accomplish this mission by paddling all 2,350 miles and reaching out to strangers, academics, and environmentalists.
Microplastics: Supporting Science
Microplastics are everywhere on Earth. The rivers act as a vehicle to transport these particles, less than 5mm in size, to the sea and into our ecosystems. Reduced oversight and funding make tracking these minute particles a challenge.
Drift South Expedition aims to help citizens, policymakers, and scientists gain insight into the scale and concentration of microplastics in the Mississippi. We do this by surveying every 50 miles from source to sea of the Mississippi River.
What we are doing isn't unprecedented. Maya Dizack (also a partner of One Mississippi) paddled the Mississippi River in 2019 to sample for microplastics. Our expedition uses her knowledge and encouragement to build the will to make this survey happen.
Drs. Teresa Baraza & Natalie Hernandez, postdoctoral researchers at St. Louis University, will process these samples before leaving in December – the budget cuts caused their academic year appointments to be cut short. The efforts of DSE will provide another publishing opportunity, give the public access to this data, and help maintain a pulse on River health.
A way you can help
A major part of our expedition is the people. We want to give the people who foster River health, whether through work, volunteering, or supporting those who give to the River, a spotlight. We work best when we are reminded of the care and support in the River community.
In a recent interview with Jenna Claypool, a caretaker at Nelson Spearhead Nature Preserve, she said, “Water is life.” She grew up on the headwaters in Bemidji, MN, and she has always been drawn to the River. Her care for the River extends to the people paddling it – she took DSE into her home, fed us, and filled us with encouragement!
We'd love to hear from you! Reach out to DSE on Facebook or Instagram (@Drift_South_Expedition)-- a phrase, a video selfie, or direct messaging for an in-person interview along the River's edge!
Here are some guiding questions!
- What is your name and where are you from?
- How are you involved with the River? (e.g. are you a current paddler, a river angel, a member of the community, or someone who is interested in learning more about how humans interact with the River?)
- What would you like to see for the future of the River?
Would you like to help some more?
- Can you help us spread the word? Whether it's helping us connect with news outlets, sharing our social media, or telling a friend how they can help the Mississippi River, please, help the idea of community flow throughout the River.