by Kathy Whitlow, Office Manager

Milestones are interesting for me. Sometimes I celebrate them. Sometimes I ignore they’re happening (like every birthday so far after 45!). But mostly, milestones are a time for reflection, gratitude and looking forward.Kwhitlow20thMomentsCollage

As Rose Kennedy once said, “Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.”

I haven’t been here since the beginning but the moments I’ve enjoyed in the watershed are special to me. Walking with my family in Martis Valley… Planting sugar pines with my daughter on Truckee River Day when the shovel was twice as tall as she was… A quiet morning monitoring water quality on Donner Creek with my son- NO video games! Just curiosity…

A milestone anniversary like our 20th represents amazing accomplishments:

  • 20 years
  • 200 projects
  • 200,000 volunteer hours

Perhaps more importantly, it represents many small moments, personal to each of us.

We do it for the future. It’s our nature. We work to make the watershed more resilient, sustainable and alive – through managing projects, influencing policies and engaging people. As an organization looking back on 20 years, there are so many moments worth celebrating:

  • The moment Alice Berg, Jim Plehn and Sarah Trebilcock decided to take action and start Truckee River Day in 1996
  • Every moment a volunteer joined us in working for the watershed
  • The moments when our generous donors decide to contribute, enabling us to protect, enhance and restore our watershed
  • Those moments when we return to a restoration site and experience the revival of birds, willows and fish

What are your favorite moments in the watershed?

Sunday, October 18, 2015 marks our 20th Annual Truckee River Day. Enjoy the moment with us! Register today and join us in taking back the Truckee River’s meadows, creeks, streams and ponds.

Images (clockwise from top, right): A beautiful morning on the Truckee River, the Group Leaders pause for a moment at our milfoil removal project on Truckee River Day (TRD) 2014 (Credit: Cathy Howard), planting sugar pines at TRD 2013, a peaceful moment on Donner Creek, the River Fair on TRD 2012, monitoring water quality on Donner Creek.  Credits: Kathy Whitlow (unless otherwise noted).