10th Annual Project AWARE July 7-14, 2012 Iowa River Project AWARE, which stands for A Watershed Awareness River Expedition, involves hundreds of volunteers who spend their vacations working as aquatic garbage collectors - cleaning up, learning about, and exploring Iowa's rivers. 2011-2012 Project AWARE Fact Sheet 2012 Project AWARE Route Thank you Project AWARE volunteers, sponsors and friends! During the 2011 event this past July, 429 volunteers muscled over 32 tons of trash from the Little Turkey, Turkey and Volga rivers. Thirty one tons consisted of scrap metal and tires, all of which could be recycled. Check out past Project AWARE accomplishments! Be part of Project AWARE - sponsor today! 2011 Project AWARE Sponsors - Thank You!

Project AWARE 2011:

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Project AWARE isn’t for the person who’s afraid to get a little dirt under his or her fingernails. While most of your time is spent in a canoe or kayak, you are still fully immersed in the wilderness and eventually you’re bound to get dirty. Prepare to find mud in awkward places and potentially stinky things in your canoe. Most people find this aspect appealing; remembering the days when they were just kids playing in the mud... Intrigued? Check out our Project AWARE: Frequently Asked Questions.

Project A.W.A.R.E. Objectives:

• Increase awareness about, and community involvement in, water quality issues that impact the health of Iowa's aquatic resources.
• Engage Iowa's citizen volunteers in a project that challenges them to become stewards of the river and produces a tangible, quantitative result.
• Demonstrate the commitment of Iowa's citizens by giving of themselves and their valuable time to make a difference - one stretch of river, one piece of trash at a time.

For More Information:
Brian Soenen
(515)-205-8587
Brian.Soenen@dnr.iowa.gov