Inside Outside Michiana: LIfeStraw Go at Bonneyville Mill

With the LifeStraw Go in hand, we decided to head out to Bonneyville Mill this last Saturday to try out the LifeStraw Go. Read more about the LifeStraw Go in the pictures below by the waterfall. There is also a giveaway for a bottle/filter at the bottom of the post. It was about 27 degrees, but felt much warmer as there was no wind and it was sunny out. On days like this, we make it a point to go out!

The boys are always good outside if they have a sword or stick to play with! We looked at the water over the river and could see ice in parts. We spent quite a bit of time talking about our observations and what we noticed as ice formed, leaves were trapped, and some water flowed.

Across the bridge, we found several stumps we hadn't remembered. It looks like many ash trees were cut down as has happened in other parks in the area.

The boys examined the stumps, trying to count how old they were and speculating about what happened. "I think that bug ate the tree!" "It's the Emerald Ash Borer!" Indeed, we found track marks and the tell tale D shape exit hole of the Emerald Ash Borer.

This is a perfect little spot for photos. The ground is a little torn up here as it truly is a popular spot to view the falls and/or add them into pictures.

We noticed details like the ice on the nearby leaves. We also found a dead mouse, taking a minute to observe it closely. It had long whiskers and a long skinny tail.

We also found a tall sycamore tree, with leaves on the ground nearby. The balls were hanging tight to the top. We remembered finding these on the ground at Wellfield Botanic Gardens in the spring, so we look forward to playing with them more in a couple of seasons. The falls were pretty!

It was the perfect place to fill up the LifeStraw Go water bottle. We just needed to fill it with water and the straw acts as a filter.

It was easy peasy! We have similar bottles for our emergency kits for the kits, yet there are aspects of this we liked, like the sturdy carrying carabiner and solid bottle. We thought this could be a good alternative to carrying heavy water bottles while hiking. It's also perfect for our emergency kits. It was also easy to use. Here are a few highlights of the LifeStraw Go:

· LifeStraw® Go converts microbiologically contaminated water into safe drinking water, removing 99.9999%.

· The durable, lightweight bottle is ideal for a variety of users outside of the home, including hikers, runners and campers, and for everyday consumer use.

The company is also very focused on helping others have access to clean water. They have a Follow the Liter program which includes the following:

· LifeStraw®’s ’Follow the Liters’ cause marketing campaign harnesses the collaborative power of individuals to help solve one of the world’s most pressing issues – lack of access to safe drinking water for people in developing countries.

· Under the ’Follow the Liters’ campaign, when a consumer purchases any LifeStraw® water filter, a portion of the funds are used to provide one school child in Africa with safe drinking water for an entire school year.

How cool is that! The company also makes bed nets. The boys have helped with various water and mosquito net programs through Vacation Bible School, so they understand how we can really make an impact through clean water and mosquito nets. Here are a few other notes on the company:

· LifeStraw® is manufactured by Vestergaard a Swiss-based global company dedicated to improving the health of disadvantaged people with game-changing solutions that fight malaria, HIV/AIDS, diarrheal disease and neglected tropical diseases.

· The company is the largest producer of long-lasting insecticidal bed nets that prevent malaria under the PermaNet® brand, and its award-winning LifeStraw® water filters have been designed for individual, family and community uses.

It was a cool day, with ice forming in different areas. The boys enjoyed exploring the ice, relating the organic shapes to rattlesnakes and other natural objects.

The boys really enjoyed taking chunks of ice they found and floating them down the river. They were actually becoming a little scientific about it as they hypothesized which shape of ice moved faster with the flow. Once again, the boys magically find things to do while outside. They may say they want to stay inside playing Minecraft sometimes; however, once we are outside, they creatively find things to explore! Time passes quickly!