“We step gingerly and feel ahead before we press down firmly. When we kick an underwater object in the Flats, there are good odds that it might just be a radial tire. *** While we can’t agree on which fish are wanted, we can all agree that automobile tires have no business in this place. – Justin Mando, The Conejehola Flats, Part 2
We’re back with Part 2 of the Conejohela Flats, and oh, man, the plastic! It’s really unnerving to see just how much trash three guys with a boat and some trash bags can pull out of the river in an afternoon. Let’s find out more, shall we? Back to our interview with Justin Mando, English Prof and Department Chair at Millersville University by day and Environmental Ninja 24/7.
Talk about your work with the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association (LSRA), and the Chesapeake Bay Journal?
I joined the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association on their board of directors in 2019 after being recruited to the position. Millersville’s Sustainability Director recommended me, and I joined shortly after. It didn’t take long for me to accept the position of Vice Chair of the Board, as our organization did not have one, and I was eager to be involved. We were a board of only six people at that point.
Just a few months into my time as Vice Chair, the COVID-19 pandemic began, and we lost our chairperson for personal and professional reasons. That bumped me up into the role of board chair. The LSRA board was the first I’d ever joined, and I became the chair of it within six months. At that point, my understanding of what it meant to be a board member was still inchoate at best. Through work with our remaining board members, some fortunate recruitment of new members, and the continued leadership of Riverkeeper Ted Evgeniadis, we grew through some truly challenging times.
My role as board chair is now over after three years in that role, and I could not be prouder of what we have accomplished. We saw some major victories like a $1m settlement with Keystone Protein that cleaned up a polluting site and distributed the settlement to shovel-ready projects that would make an impact on the water quality in our area. We joined as a co-plaintiff in our quest to resolve Harrisburg’s Combined Sewer Overflow issue. We’ve made progress on federal dam relicensing at Conowingo. We acquired robust educational programming that introduces thousands of local kids to the Susquehanna River. We’ve also grown our presence in the local communities in our area, which allows us to spread our message and invite more people to help us out directly.
Through my work on the LSRA board and my role as an English professor, I was recently invited to join the board of directors for Bay Journal Media, which publishes the Chesapeake Bay Journal.
That’s terrific, and I’m sure they are thrilled to have your expertise. Tell us more about what you’ve witnessed during the making of the Conejohela Flats videos. How do plastics stress the water cycle? And what have you noticed over the last decade as the use of plastics has increased?
The horror I have witnessed about plastics is just what I tried to emphasize in my Conejohela Flats piece; plastics don’t ever go away; they just get smaller. The smaller they are, the more dangerous they become because they can enter our bodies. When I say “our” bodies, I am including all humans and animals. When we go out plastic picking on the Susquehanna, it always feels good to remove big blue drums, foam blocks, tires, and other large petroleum-based refuse. But the scary part is that all you need to do to find an endless amount of plastic is to fall on your knees and start digging through the soil. The longer you look, the more you see. It just gets smaller and smaller.
Unfortunately, you are referring to microplastics and the news on them has not been so good these days. In fact, microplastics have crossed the blood/brain barrier. It’s no longer a question about whether we will become part cyborg, but a matter of time. Against that backdrop, what do you see as the future of plastics? Reduced? Reused? Discarded with disdain? Something completely new taking its place?
I hope the future will include new processes of keeping microplastics from entering our bodies through water and food. A great hope for replacing plastics is in the use of mycelium (the “roots” of fungi) to grow materials. I read all about this recently in a great book by Merlin Sheldrake called Entangled Life.
I, too, have heard about using mycelium from the movie Fantastic Fungi. It sounds so promising; I can’t believe the entrepreneurial community hasn’t jumped on it yet!
That’s it for today. Hope to see you in a few days for Zoom In on the Conejohela Flats – Part 3 where we’ll discuss what we can all do to ease the grip that plastic has on our world and our bodies.
Thanks for reading.
pam lazos 2.5.25
Green Life Blue Water 
I believe, but I’m going by memory, (leaving lots of comments to heighten search engine love!) that there are also wax worms? That eat plastic. I have so much love for mushrooms from the vantage point of healing our bodies and being in communion with the filters of the earth. You know this book called Entangled is intriguing as well. The whole thing about the author’s “pen name”? Captures me: Merlin Sheldrake. I shall remember that, easily. 😉 Hugs to you, Pam! Thank you Justin Mando. Another pretty cool name, actually…
That’s an aside.
Thank you for caring! 🩷💕🌎🌍🌏🍃🌱🌳
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, the wax worms also eat plastic, Ka! We need some dedicated R&D to tackle these issues.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of course I already know they’ve found microplastics in our brains and all our organs. If only our environmental heroes could seen as heroes from both sides of the political ugh. 😫
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right?! 🤷♀️
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have to peak through my hand 🖐️ at some of these posts because the plastics and the junk is overwhelming. Emotionally I can handle small snippets of looking at the environmental problems. Thank you, Mando! I’ll
Be back!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I feel the same way, Ka.
LikeLiked by 1 person
*peek! 🫣 🙌🏻💕
LikeLiked by 1 person
😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hooray, I found the other parts! It’s always amazing when one’s research can spark a passion, and that passion can be sparked in others. xxxxx
LikeLike
Isn’t it? It’s why we keep doing what we do, right, Jean? The ripple effect?
LikeLike
I need to check out Entangled Life. The issue of plastic pollution and the spread of microplastics feels so terrifyingly vast. Even knowing that we might be consuming microplastics on a daily basis, it can be so difficult to pinpoint the things to avoid. Yet, no matter how hopeless it may seem, protesting and raising awareness is so important. Thank you for sharing this incredible post.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It is a quandary for sure, Damyanti. We love our conveniences, but we’ve made the indispensable for daily living and that has caused all the problems. A little plastic — like for our cellphones or cars — is necessary and actually improves the product, but a lot of plastic, like single-use plastics that have a 12 minute lifespan, are an absolute Gordian Knot of a problem, sadly. Thanks for stopping by.
LikeLike
It offers a profound perspective on Mother Nature and highlights the troubling issues surrounding this river. I am delighted to witness such successful outcomes. I extend my heartfelt gratitude and best wishes to you, my lovely Pam, and Justin Mando for that outstanding work.🥰🙏💖
I often wonder how people can carelessly throw away their rubbish in such places!🤔
LikeLiked by 2 people
I know, Aladin, it’s beyond disturbing, like seeing McDonald’s wrappers in the middle of a National Park. 🙄🤷♀️
LikeLiked by 2 people
Terrible!!🙁🙈
LikeLiked by 1 person
The task of cleaning up plastic and other human waste is never done. I thank Mando and other team members for doing this difficult work.
LikeLiked by 2 people
So true, Rose, and also so hard to get people to even clean up after themselves let alone others! The bigger question I have is, who’s dumping all the tires in the river?? Or are they getting there via flooding or other ways. Whatever the reason, we need to do a better job of cleaning up our trash. I once was on a river cleanup where we pulled out a few dozen tires, a couple toilets (!), and an ATM machine among other things!
LikeLiked by 3 people
You’d really think they could take these to proper disposal places…..
LikeLike
I know, right, Shey?! It’s like the world is a big trash can to some people, sadly.
LikeLike
A good question, Pam.
LikeLike