“Moved by Waters" at Augustana College -- April 4.
Thursday, April 4, 7 p.m.
Augustana College's Olin Auditorium, 820 38th Street, Rock Island IL
Demonstrating that what unites us is more important than what divides us, the Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films turn their documentary lens on their Quad Cities home base in Augustana College's Olin Auditorium screening of Moved by Waters, enabling viewers, on April 4, to discover a network of people and organizations working toward improved water quality in the Upper Mississippi watershed.
Moved by Waters is an uplifting and inspirational documentary that depicts collaborative projects involving organizations and diverse groups of students, teachers, artists, farmers, and volunteers of all ages. Setting aside political or other differences, all are working toward improving the quality of water in the Quad Cities region in the Upper Mississippi Watershed. Did you know a piece of trash discarded in a Moline neighborhood can end up in the Gulf of Mexico? How is water quality monitored and evaluated? Is water pollution an urban or rural challenge? How does water quality affect wildlife and their habitat? These and other important questions are explored in Moved by Waters. We all need water that is clean and safe to drink, and the people and projects in the Rundles' film model a way forward that benefits both humanity and the environment.
“The Moved by Waters story is the opposite of the national narrative," said writer/director Kelly Rundle. "The national narrative tells us that Americans are too divided politically to work together on anything. The people we met and talked to while making this film showed us the opposite.”
Three local experts in their fields will participate in a post-screening panel discussion: Steve Gustafson, an environmental geological engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers; Dr. Brittany McCall, Augustana professor of biology who specializes in studying fish in freshwater systems; and Amy Kay, City of Davenport clean water manager. Dr. Michael Reisner, director of Augustana’s Upper Mississippi Center, said Augustana is proud to gather the community to learn from this film and engage in this important environmental discussion, saying, “This film is important because it shows the importance of engaging a diverse array of stakeholders, many with different values and sometimes even conflicting interests. It is the only way to make real progress on conserving and restoring the watersheds of the Midwest.”
Founded in 2013, the Upper Mississippi Center mobilizes Augustana’s faculty and students to help communities solve social, economic and environmental challenges. Recent projects have included the water line inventory project assisting the City of Rock Island’s response to the state’s Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act; and the multi-year Sustainable Urban Watersheds research project.
Moved by Waters will be screened in Augustana College's Olin Auditorium on April 4, participation is free, and more information is available by contacting Peyton Heisch at (309)235-9955 and peytonheisch@augustana.edu, or Nicole Lauer at (309)794-7645 and nicolelauer@augustana.edu.
