Freshwater recently renewed our organizational commitment to embrace our mission—to empower people to value and conserve fresh water—by thoughtfully considering the details and meaning of “people.” Whom do we mean when we say empowering people? Our board and staff realize, of course, that our mission is for all people, knowing that individually and collectively, all people need to share in protecting and conserving water.
Freshwater and the University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences are cohosting a free online lecture open to the public on Wednesday, April 13, from 12–1:30 pm. This event focuses on microplastic waste.
Freshwater’s new Adopt a River program is up and running and already processing registrations for shoreline cleanups! Whether it’s a one-time cleanup or an adoption (a commitment to clean multiple times), a stretch of the Mississippi or your neighborhood pond, participating in Adopt a River could be a unique experience for you and your group.
It’s that time of year again! The days are getting longer and helping us eke out daytime temps above zero (and even above freezing!), the snow is looking grungy, and the legislative session is in full swing … kind of.
There’s a film premiering on Feb. 19 that Freshwater just couldn’t ignore. The setting? Lake Superior. The title? “Freshwater.”
Minnesota GreenCorps member Karyna Kloude joined Freshwater in September to support our newest program, Adopt a River. The focus of her service year is increasing the program’s sustainability, creating and revamping educational tools, and reaching new audiences.
At Freshwater, we have the privilege of reading public input from Minnesotans all over the state in our people-driven systems change work (like the One Watershed, One Plan efforts). Increasingly, we are reading public comments where people are noting that they have seen their weather change over the last decade, and these changes impact the health of their groundwater, surface waters, ecosystems, and wildlife.
If you really want to understand an environmental or water quality issue, it’s no secret that you have to get out from behind the computer screen once in a while and into the field. After years of editing technical reports, and writing factsheets and news releases for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, I decided to follow that advice.
As 2021 ends, I am sincerely grateful for the actions you, as Freshwater supporters, empowered this year. Whether you donated to one of our campaigns like our internship program, told your elected officials how important protecting and restoring clean and safe water is for our future, or shared your passion for water with friends and family, you made a real difference.
Today we’re featuring Lila Franklin, who joined Freshwater in December 2019 as a program intern. Her internship continued until January 2021, when she became a program associate.
