Bridget Kufner, cleaning the banks of the Fox River.
“The visual of green sludge and litter, along the shoreline or floating, it makes me sad.”
Bridget Kufner grew up along the Branch River in Manitowoc County. She knew that sometimes you could swim and play in the river, but other times you didn’t want to go near it. As she got older, she realized why it was like that. “I don’t know all the complex causes,” Bridget said, ”but I know there is impact of people using fertilizer on their lawns or farm fields.”
Now living in Appleton, Bridget sees that Lake Winnebago is the same. Sometimes people can play in the water and enjoy it; sometimes they avoid it. “It makes me sad for the creatures that rely on the fresh water,” she said. “If I don’t want to be in it, they don’t want to be in it. But they’re wildlife and don’t have a choice.”
So Bridget decided to make a difference. “I started on walks with my dog,” she remembered. “I would see trash everywhere and get angry. Frustrated. Why do people do this?”
Instead of staying angry, she decided to just start picking the litter up.
“You see groups do adopt-a-highway, but there isn’t a similar program for waterways,” Bridget said. “That seems important.” (Fox-Wolf has created this in our Adopt-A-Launch program. See below.)
Then three years ago, she got connected to Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance when she heard about the Annual Watershed Cleanup. She signed up for a spot where she cleaned the riverbank from a kayak. “I was hooked!” she said.
Because of her positive experience, Bridget decided to earn her Master Naturalist accreditation. After completing the classroom portion, she was required to begin hours of ongoing service to the community. Those hours need to be completed with an organization. Bridget immediately thought of Fox-Wolf and called Kelly, the Trash Free Waters coordinator.
“Meeting with Kelly was life-changing, really,” said Bridget. “I was trying to find a community of people that really have a passion to help. I never saw anyone else doing this on their own, on a regular basis. I never found them before Kelly.”
As Bridget provides her 40 hours of service a year, she is now connected to more people every year. She completes most of her hours in our watershed, in Appleton city parks or High Cliff State Park. She has purchased and donated trash pickers to High Cliff State Park for volunteers to check out. She is building her own community by making it easy for people to join her in keeping our waterways clean.
Bridget is excited to continue to work with Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, meeting people and building her community. “People should check out one of Fox-Wolf’s events,” Bridget said. “I hope to go to every event from this point on!”
Adopt-a-Launch Program
Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance has created the Adopt-A-Launch program to keep our launches clean and safe while also improving our lakes and rivers. Similar to the Adopt-a-Highway program, volunteers visit their launch multiple times a year to complete basic tasks:
- Look for invasive species at boat launches
- Remove plants from boat launch area
- Remove litter around boat launches
- Report any issues with the boat launch or surrounding areas
In addition to improving the boat launch, adopters get their name up for all to see! Every adopted launch has a sign posted that prominently displays the name of the group that cares for that place.
There are currently 13 launches adopted from Fond du Lac to Green Bay, with more inquiries in process. Launches can be adopted by individuals, clubs, organizations, or businesses.
To learn more
- visit www.fwwa.org/launches
- contact Chris at 920-460-3674 or chris@fwwa.org
Watershed Moments is a publication of Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, sharing the stories of how your donations have impacted lives in our community. Read our latest project updates, make a secure online donation, or become a member at www.fwwa.org
