By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – 
On an 1874 trip to St. Louis, Charles Dickens called the Mississippi River "an enormous ditch," and "a breeding place of fever and death." St. Louisans have always had a love-hate relationship with their river.
It has brought commerce and prosperity, but also destructive flooding. To mark Earth Day Tuesday, city planners and environmental experts from around the region gathered at the Missouri Botanical Garden to take a fresh look at how we can improve the area's rivers and streams.
KWMU's Matt Sepic prepared this report.