Your Gift Is About The Future … Of The River You Love
Dear Lover of The Severn River,
Imagine, if you will, 4 middle school kids, decked out in life jackets, masks, and waiting at the dock to be picked up by Sea Girl, a 20 ft. skiff.
It’s their first time out on the water … ever!
They are out on the river as part of our new Floating Classroom program that makes learning and discovery a fun adventure.
They are nervous and excited all at the same time. Then imagine 3 hours later – those same kids are dropped back at the dock – no longer nervous; just excited and energized.
In those 3 hours they learned about water quality, underwater grasses (our fabled SAV), local habitat and the forces that impact their survival.
They learned about oysters and the reefs where they are growing, and they learned about what it means to be a citizen scientist.
These same kids go back to their regular classrooms and tell their friends, and they tell their parents about this unique experience.
It’s like planting seeds in a garden, only these seeds grow up to be stewards and guardians of their waterway.
Citizen scientists are born!
- YOUR donations enabled 20 students this year, from 4th to 12th grade, a chance to become citizen scientists as part of the Floating Classroom.
- YOU are the reason this program can grow – to include kids who have never even been on the water, despite living in Annapolis;
- Your support helps students to grow up to become powerful voices for the health of your river.
- These kids are OUR future, and we want to give them the gift of living along a healthy river – where they can swim and fish just like you did, and your parents and grandparents did before you.
The best news is that the Floating Classroom is only one of the several new and growing initiatives that have been recently implemented to monitor and support the health of the Severn River.
- YOUR SUPPORT has also allowed SRA to now monitor water quality at 44 stations including 5 Oyster Reefs – the science-based data collected can now drive decisions made about the Severn River.
- Because of YOU, SRA has repopulated the Severn River with more than 70 million oysters to date.
- Because of you, SRA works with communities up and down the Severn to protect shorelines from erosion, enhance property values and create new wildlife habitat.
Please consider making a donation and invest in your future and the future of your river.
We know what a challenging year 2020 has been for all of us, but together we are working hard to preserve and treasure the Severn River!
Wishing you a healthier and happy 2021,
Erik Kreifeldt
President, Severn River Association
P.S. Before you go, would you consider a monthly donation? Any amount! For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can make a gift that sustains the work to protect the Severn River. Become a Guardian of the Severn and be part of the solution!
THANK YOU!
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