This week I’m joined by Chad Pregracke, the Founder of Living Lands & Waters and author of the book "From the Bottom Up." Chad is a lot of things…he’s the 2013 CNN Hero of the Year, an author, an environmentalist, and an entrepreneur. But the word I think best describes Chad is “Rebel”. Chad has rebelled against the notion of what we can, and cannot achieve. 

 At 19 Chad decided he was fed-up with the amount of trash in the Mississippi River, so in true “Rebel” form he created an "industrial strength" not-for-profit river cleanup operation like no other in the world. Since then, Chad has gone on to rally over 118,000 volunteers, and built a fleet of five barges, three towboats, a crane, excavator, six workboats and coordinating up to 25 work vessels. Chad and his crew have removed 10 million pounds of garbage from our Nation's great rivers.

Not convinced Chad is a rebel yet? His most recent project, named “Bison Bridge'', aims to convert an old abandoned bridge into a bison and recreational crossing connecting the Illinois and Iowa river fronts on the Mississippi River. His vision of “Bison Bridge” is to introduce a small herd of wild bison, with approximately 100 acres of grazing land on either side of the river. Bison Bridge project will provide a space for reclaimed prairie and the opportunity to grow the wild bison population. Click here for more information about Bison Bridge, or go to https://bisonbridge.org/. To join Chad and his crew at Living Lands & Waters, or to donate to his organization, visit https://www.livinglandsandwaters.org/