Parting Words From A Riverkeeper Staffer:

Make A Difference With Your Support

 

By Kathy Urffer

 

I have been very fortunate to work at Hackensack Riverkeeper Inc. for the past four years and have had the honor of working with an incredible staff and an amazing boss. This has been the most gratifying job I have ever had.

I’m moving to Vermont where I hope to help conservation efforts in the Green Mountain State. I hope to learn my local rivers and mountains in Vermont as intimately as I know the Hackensack River.

For the past four years, I’ve attended the Waterkeeper Alliance Conference where 125 Waterkeepers from all over the world gather to network. The work done by these folks continually inspires and amazes me. Unlike large corporations and other anonymous environmental organizations where leadership is unclear, Waterkeepers, as individuals, stick their necks out to take care of our waterways. They put their own name, and in some cases their bodies, on the line to protect our waterways.

Hackensack Riverkeeper has not only been an inspiration to me, but also to so many others that live around the River. I’ve talked to thousands of people at hundreds of events. My heart always beats a little bit happier when a little girl comes up to me after a presentation and says that she wants to start an environmental club at her school. Or when a teenager gets fired up and wants to help us bust polluters. But it breaks my heart when I have to tell carefree anglers that they should throw back the bushel of crabs they just caught from the Hackensack River--because the crabs are full of deadly dioxin.

Our natural areas and our waters are a public resources. They should be safe, clean resources. I look forward to the day when I will bring my future children home to the Hackensack River to enjoy the natural abundance found here. To fish and to eat what we catch. To paddle in the hot sun and cool off with a refreshing swim. That day, I know, will someday come.

In the meantime, I encourage you to support the important work of Hackensack Riverkeeper in whatever way you can. This small hardworking staff can do their work only because caring people like you send in $10, $25 or $100 or more. That has been one of the most gratifying aspects of my job at Hackensack Riverkeeper: the thrill of opening an envelope and finding a donation from someone who believes in our work. It confirms that you appreciate what we do and validates that we are working in the right direction. It also ensures that we can pay our staff, publish Hackensack Tidelines, educate watershed residents and advocate for clean water. My parting request is to encourage you to make a real difference and send as generous a donation as you can afford to Hackensack Riverkeeper today.

As always, some time or some place, we will see you on the River!