We're the ones on the water.

My name's R.J. I'm Métis, born and raised in Winnipeg. I started Red River Revival because nobody else was going to.

The Red and the Assiniboine were the highways my ancestors built this country on — cart trails, trade routes, fishing grounds, family. The infinity on our flag is two cultures joined together. The two rivers meeting at The Forks are the same idea, just older.

Two centuries later, we're still here. The rivers are too. But they're choking.

Every spring melt washes more debris down into Lake Winnipeg, and that lake's already in trouble. So we built our own program.

We're not doing this just because it looks bad. We're doing it because a single car sitting on the riverbed is a time bomb. It leaks motor oil, battery acid, and heavy metals straight into the current.

Tires are even worse. Science tells us that as they break down, they release microplastics and a chemical called 6PPD-quinone. It's highly toxic to fish. Every tire left in the Red is poisoning the water that feeds Lake Winnipeg.

If we don't pull it out now, it breaks down. And once it breaks down, you can't get it out.

• Ken Larson — CEO, Princess Auto
• Trevor Nott — Métis owner and president, Nott Auto
• Genico Aiello — Social enterprise consultant

Our board members put their names on this because they believe in the work. Not because it looks good on a résumé.