St. LOUIS, Mo.—Ride your bike, get some exercise, and help promote water quality on Gravois Creek in the River des Peres watershed.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and its Community Stewardship Alliance (CSA) partners join the River des Peres Watershed Coalition in inviting volunteers to the Bike with Your Boots On water quality monitoring event this Saturday, Sept. 21 at 9 a.m. on the Gravois Creek Greenway in South St. Louis County.  The event is open to both experienced water quality monitors and interested citizens.

Volunteers should meet at the Tesshire Trailhead parking lot at the intersections of Grants Trail and Tesshire Drive. No experience in water quality testing is required, but everyone must wear a bike helmet if bike riding. Trained water quality monitors will collect water quality monitoring data from sites and will offer opportunities for new trainees or interested citizens to observe.

Participants can ride their bikes on the greenway trail or drive directly to the monitoring sites. They should bring a water bottle to keep hydrated and be prepared to get their feet wet. The data collected throughout the day will be used to create a snapshot of the health of the River des Peres watershed.

Attending the event requires advanced RSVP by contacting events@riverdesperes.org.  In the event of severe weather, this event will be canceled, and volunteers will be notified via email.

The CSA is a conservation program intended to provide focused, trained, volunteer leadership to restore and maintain the natural areas within St. Louis County Parks.

The program is made possible through the collaborative efforts of Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, Great Rivers Greenway, Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Master Naturalists Great Rivers Chapter, the Open Space Council for the St. Louis Region, St. Louis Audubon Society, St. Louis County Parks, and St. Louis County Parks Foundation.