I recently visited Charleston, South Carolina for the annual River Network River Rally. I spent several days after it ended in deep reflection of all that I experienced. I then spent the later part of last week trying to figure out how to sum it all up. Below is what I came up with. Enjoy!
“Rally! Ho! Rally! Ho!” That was the chant that Rally “newbies” shared back and forth with River Network staff after our introductory for newcomers workshop ended on Friday morning. What did you expect from a bunch of people who have made it their careers to work on river issues? Seriousness? Not a chance.
Image via Wikipedia
The River Rally is an annual workshop, education and networking conference organized by the River Network, which is basically a support group for due-paying river advocates and organization. More officially, the River Network’s mission is to “empower and unite people and communities to protect and restore rivers and other waters that sustain the health of our country.”
Paramount amongst my objectives to get out of this, my first big conference as a Riverkeeper, was a solid four days of networking with other Keepers and river advocates from across the country. What I really got out of it, on top of the networking and education and ideas, was a sense of being re-energized, re-focused and almost psychologically strengthened. The combination of the workshops I attended and the speakers I heard from made me prouder than ever to do this work and to make clean water my priority. I want to share with you some thoughts and notes I took during the speaker presentations that occurred during the big group sessions around meal times. The agenda was packed with river advocates, agency representatives, poets and basically just people with a positive opinion about the importance of clean water. I’ll spare you the gritty details and wonky water talk that I picked up during the workshops, and simply share with you my notes. In doing so, I feel validated for taking notes, and hopefully you pick up some inspiration.
Mickey Fearn, the National Park Services Deputy Director for Communications and Community Assistance.
- Fearn has three criteria for judging the quality of a society – 1) the condition of the elderly and the children 2) the condition of the environment 3) how citizens use their free time. How do you think Spokane is doing?
- He reminded us that we need to restore the outdoors as a sacred place for children. This was a fresh thought and got me thinking of how my parents used to have to beg me and my brothers to come inside at nights because we couldn’t get enough of playing outside whether in the empty lot by our house or the hills just up the block.
- One thing he said about the National Park Service that I think all environmental agencies and organizations could use is his thought that we need to provide services and information and offerings where people can calculate a return on their investment. For instance, the Spokane Riverkeeper just can’t say, “you should go enjoy the river so you understand it.” We need to be able to prove that they not only will enjoy it, but that they will get something out of it. Messaging isn’t easy. Yet too often we go with what sounds good and easiest.
- Fearn then shared an anecdote where he once had his daughter, an art student, tell him she had to go to a class and do a three-hour drawing. He was surprised that she had to draw for three hours, but she told him, “we don’t draw for three hours, we think about what we want to do for an hour first, then we draw.” I think from now on I’m going to think of the “three-hour drawing” approach when looking at an issue or a course of action.
- The one+one=three theory, which is basically the idea to build some strength or capacity greater than that present in the independent organizations who are working together. I liked this theory a lot.
- Finally, Fearn left with this quote which is certainly one to remember: “All the tributaries make the river great. We are the tributaries adding to the great river of time and culture; the river of humanity. If tributaries stop flowing into river, if they become individualistic and egotistical, if they put terms and conditions before they join the rivers, they will dry and rivers will dry too.” River related, but not really. I think that’s why I liked it so much.
Janisse Ray – writer, naturalist and activist
Janisse Ray spoke at lunch time on the first day and gave a titled presenatation, “River Politics and the Landscape of Wholeness”. I was blown away by how she mixed in her poems and personal anecdotes to her great discussion on the conflicted relationship humans have had with water. She discussed the metaphor water is for re-making local landscapes so that we can live in community, both human and wild, and end in destruction of the things we love. Her southern charm and her local roots helped shape a great presentation. Below is a video of her speaking at another event – it’s the closest I could come up with. She’s just a very inspiring person to listen to – enjoy
And finally, Monday’s presentation was a roundtable discussion called “Water Unites Us”. I was particularly moved by three of the presenters.
Reverend Fletcher Harper, the Executive Director of GreenFaith, a leading national interfaith environmental coalition.
Image via Wikipedia
- Of all that Harper said, his key message was that we need to “cultivate an ethic of community service in our communities.”
Marjan Fazaad, Chief of the Waterhsed Coordination Section at EPA’s Atlanta Office.
Here are the highlights from her very animated talk.
- “Go look at the top ten political issues at this time – no matter what it is – the environment is intertwined in all of them.”
- “Do you know how important water is? When you’re thirsty, like really, really thirsty – you’re only 1% low. So it’s pretty damn important”
- “Water is free. Clean water isn’t free”
- “Water quantity is the angle and the issue to start the conversation around water quality”
- “We need to explain to people that water is the fabric of life. Talking about TMDL’s, regulations, flow, etc are all the little issues that are part of a larger issue. Sure it’s quality and quantity, but it’s more than that. It’s everything. It’s healthcare, it’s economy, it’s justice it’s culture, it’s spiritual.”
George Hawkins, General Manager of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority.
What a perfect way to end it. Hawkins, often seen as representing the “bad guys” in the water quality world laid it all out how there is no difference in the work being done, just a different set of tools. I was moved by his frank discussion maybe more than anything I heard all weekend.
I already can’t wait until next year’s River Rally.
Rally Ho!
