Last week, we caught up with Adam Flett, the Stewardship Coordinator at Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR), to ask him a couple of questions about his work. You will have a chance to meet Flett in person if you attend CURE’s Mid-Winter Gathering this Thursday, January 23rd, when he will be traveling to Granite Falls to present the Native Plants, Raingardens and Lawn Care for Water Quality (+winter tips) Workshop beginning at 6 PM. Click here for more information about the workshop.
When asked about his role at FMR now, he stated,
I am presently the Stewardship Coordinator at FMR, and my role here is engaging the public in native restoration events and in watershed friendly living workshops. We focus primarily on invasive removals, native plantings, and clean-up type events, but also provide a breadth of other opportunities to learn about water quality and habitat related issues. Working with a number of partner organizations, we provide action opportunities and information related to improving our local watershed.”
Flett has years of diversified experience in environmental conservation and sustainable landscaping. After spending time in Australia learning water conservation techniques for the home and yard, Adam returned back to his home state of Minnesota and joined FMR. Flett leads all public restoration events for FMR, and provides educational opportunities regarding community engagement, raingarden and rain barrel installations, and watershed friendly practices for the home.
Flett continued to share with us the highlights of being FMR’s Stewardship Coordinator,
my favorite part of this job is interacting with individuals, whether stewardship is their ‘thing’ or not. Everyday I have an opportunity to speak with people on the importance of caring for the world around them and get to speak to tangible things that can be done that can have a positive impact. A lot of people think of environmental issues as something they cannot affect or change, when it’s precisely the opposite! And aside from that aspect, I really just enjoy being outside as much as possible.”
Flett has a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in Environmental Science, Policy and Management and a Minor Degree in Forest Resources, and enjoys edible gardening, foraging, canoeing and rock climbing in his spare time.
Thanks for the kind words- looking forward to meeting with river supporters and environmental enthusiasts tomorrow, and hopefully you all leave with some ideas of how you can improve your yards for water quality!