“Our River Connection” Animated Video: Understanding Rivers and the Ways We Impact Them

Rivers are essential resources and provide an immeasurable list of services that are critical for many ways of life throughout the world. Minnesota is home to many important river systems, such as the Mississippi River, that provide services which help sustain life and provide resources to help human economies thrive.

Minnesota's rivers endured decades of intensive impacts as the state industrialized, commonly used as a dumping grounds for untreated waste and modified extensively to make navigation easier. Our treatment of rivers has improved significantly in the years since, but human activity continues to impact them today. River systems are extremely complex in nature and many of the negative impacts caused by human activity go unrecognized or are misunderstood. Fortunately, there are many ways we can minimize our impacts and help restore our rivers to good health.

The Anoka Conservation District has proudly released a new animated video to help understand how rivers function and the role humans play in keeping them healthy. "Our River Connection" video brings you on a journey through a breadth of river topics, such as river formation, natural river behavior, current and historical human impacts, and actions we can take to protect them today. This video is suitable for a wide range of audiences, with narrative and visuals that are approachable and easy to digest. When you're done watching the video, you can take the companion quiz or explore the links in the video description to learn more. 

ACD Contact: Breanna Keith, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

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Our Groundwater Connection: Contamination Video

The second in a series of videos about groundwater was published on March 3rd, 2020. "Our Groundwater Connection: Contamination" is a follow-up to the original "Our Groundwater Connection" video published on June 11th, 2019. The video builds on the information viewers learned from the first video, focusing on how groundwater becomes contaminated and what we can do to prevent contamination. The video explains different sources of pollution, how pollutants travel and build up over time, and what happens when wells become contaminated. The video concludes with the message that "everyone has the responsibility to stop contamination from getting into our groundwater. When we work together to prevent pollution, we can ensure clean drinking water now, and for many generations to come."

The project was made possible because members of the Water Resource Outreach Collaborative pooled their resources to create a high quality product with minimal financial stress on any one organization. Partners from Washington County Public Health and Environment and the Minnesota Department of Health also provided input and support for the project.

On March 3rd, the video was debuted at the MN Rural Water Association Annual Technical Conference during a mini-session presentation by ACD's Outreach and Engagement Coordinator.

Watch on the video on YouTube by searching "Our Groundwater Connection: Contamination," or by clicking here: https://youtu.be/gRSHJpe8pq8

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