OUR GEM: Be a 'Water Warrior' with Kootenai Environmental Alliance

As a reader of the Our Gem articles, there is a good chance that you are a Water Warrior. If so, you are going to be interested in what Kootenai Environmental Alliance (KEA) has been up to.

KEA is the oldest member-supported conservation nonprofit in Idaho; dedicated to protecting the state’s land, air and water. This includes Our Gem, Lake Coeur d’Alene. The annual KEA fundraiser Junk 2 Funk is focused on protecting the lake with the theme, Water Warriors. The event was Oct. 10 at the Eagles on Sherman.

Junk2Funk is an October tradition of fun, creativity, and fabulous fashions. It is a fashion show where artists create wearable recycled outfits by using materials that might be tossed in the trash or recycling bin. All the fashions must be at least 80% recycled material, but this is not your typical thrift store recycling. Artists have been known to use plastic grocery bags, hamburger to-go boxes, aluminum can pop-tops, magazine pages and many other types of material that is normally tossed. This year, one of the artists used chip bags in a creative way.

Twenty-eight artists and as many models strutted their stuff on the recycled runway. It was set up to be a terrific night, and thanks to the generous sponsorship of Pilgrim’s Market, the proceeds will help KEA continue their mission. If you couldn’t make it to the fashion show extravaganza, make sure you mark your calendar for early October next year and get your tickets early. Junk 2 Funk is a reminder to pay attention to how and what we are discarding in the trash and to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. 

KEA also recently hosted a Tubbs Hill cleanup. It was a beautiful day where KEA’s mission to protect the water and land came together. Community members volunteered to collect trash from this treasured site along the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Evans Brothers Coffee and Back Pocket Bakery donated coffee and pastries to energize volunteers, rounding out a perfect morning. Twenty-five volunteers gathered at the Third Street trailhead and spent hours filling cloth bags with garbage found across Tubbs. At noon, KEA gathered up all the trash and delivered it to the transfer station.  

The clean-up was so successful that KEA’s board is hoping to make it a regular thing. KEA would like to thank all Water Warriors involved in the clean-up. Check out the KEA website to see what other upcoming events are scheduled to protect Our Gem as well as the land and air in North Idaho. You don’t need to wait for the next volunteer clean-up day to pick up trash from Tubbs Hill; bring a bag and a pair of gloves with you when you go for a hike and you, too, can be a Water Warrior.

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The Our Gem Coeur d’Alene Lake Collaborative is a team of committed and passionate professionals working to preserve lake health and protect water quality by promoting community awareness of local water resources through education, outreach and stewardship. Our Gem includes local experts from the University of Idaho - Idaho Water Resources Research Institute, Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission, Kootenai Environmental Alliance, Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Kootenai County.