EAST MOLINE, ILLINOIS (August 12, 2025) — Living Lands and Waters took flight (quite literally) at the 2025 Red Bull Flugtag in Cincinnati, Ohio, earning second place out of nearly forty teams with a daring 66-foot flight over the Ohio River on Saturday, August 9.
Competing in the global event for the second time, the non-profit swapped barges for wings with a human-powered aircraft loosely modeled after an invasive flying carp — a nod to the waterways they work to protect. The 22-foot-wide, sixteen-foot-long, eight-foot-tall craft was designed by Rob Southwick, brought to life by the LL&W crew with help from friends and family, and given its bold look by local artist Atlanta Dawn. Adding to the organization’s mission, parts of the aircraft were built from debris pulled from the Mississippi River.
Pilot Leah Cafarelli and flight crew members Dan Breidenstein, Callie Schaser, Derek Mitchell, and Carson Lund-Fuller delivered a high-energy dance performance before launching their flying fish from the 22-foot deck, securing the second-longest flight of the day.
“Flugtag is pure fun, but for us, it’s also about connecting with the communities where we work, and showing that creativity, teamwork, and a love for the river can take you pretty far. . . even into the air,” said Leah Cafarelli.
Red Bull Flugtag challenges teams to design, build, and pilot human-powered flying machines, judged on creativity, performance, and distance. Cincinnati, a frequent LL&W cleanup site, drew tens of thousands of spectators to cheer on this year’s launches.
Living Lands and Waters is a 501(c)(3) environmental organization founded by Chad Pregracke in 1998. The organization's mission is to aid in the protection, preservation, and restoration of the natural environment of the nation's major rivers and their watersheds. From its single-boat beginning, LL&W has grown to an industrial-strength, internationally-known organization with a fleet of barges and workboats.
To date, LL&W has removed over thirteen million pounds of debris from America’s rivers and engaged more than 130,000 volunteers in hands-on activities, including river clean-ups, environmental-education workshops, and tree plantings. For more information, visit livinglandsandwaters.org.
