Catawba Riverkeeper

Join the Catawba Riverkeeper Board!   The mission of Catawba Riverkeeper is to preserve, protect, and restore the waters of the Catawba-Wateree River Basin for all through education, advocacy, and engagement.   Our organization is powered by our more than 8,000 members across the 26 counties where the Catawba flows in North and South Carolina. Our Board of Directors serve as the representatives of those member as well as the nearly 3 million residents of the basin. As such, we strive to have a board representative of the geographic, socio-economic, racial, and professional background of those residents so that their voices are heard and reflected in the priorities and programs of our organization.   Members of the Board of Directors have 4-6 regular meetings annually and are also asked to join ‘ad hoc’ committees around issues, events, and projects as needed. While we have no monetary giving requirements, we do require board members to be members of Catawba Riverkeeper, which can be achieved through financial support or volunteer time. It is our hope that board members of Catawba Riverkeeper will view our organization and the work we do as one of their top priorities outside of their family and work life; giving them a level of investment and commitment needed to support the work of our 20 professional staff who work across 3 offices and multiple field locations within the river basin.    The application process and timeline for evaluating and selecting new board members is outlined below. Completing this application does not oblige you to accept a nomination, but will allow you to be evaluated alongside other applicants to fill the open spots on the board beginning in early 2025. If you need more information regarding the roles and responsibilities of a board member at Catawba Riverkeeper, you may email Executive Director John Searby at john@catawbariverkeeper.org to arrange a time for a phone call or virtual chat.    Timeline October 7: Application period opens October 31: Application period closes November 1 – 20: Application review The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, supported by other board members who are interested in assisting, will review applications and select up to 8 applicants for interviews. Finalists will be notified before Thanksgiving and asked to choose a time slot for a virtual interview with the selection committee. December 1-20: Finalist Interviews Finalists are interviewed via Microsoft Teams calls and the committee will make recommendation of 4 to offer to join our board. Selected new board members will be notified before the end of the year and presented to the board and membership at the State of the River/Annual Members meeting, which will be held in early 2025 (date and location TBA). Membership will vote and new board members will begin service. https://lnkd.in/ent3cSEg

This weekend, McKim & Creed's Early Career Professionals Group kicked off another year with a meeting in Charlotte, N.C. followed by a group volunteer outing with Catawba Riverkeeper where our team helped collect debris from Irwin Creek at Revolution Park. #PeopleHelpingPeople #ECP #McKimCreed #Volunteering

Along with several colleagues, I had the pleasure of representing Duke Energy Corporation today at the Central Catawba Basin Watershed Symposium discussing water management, source water protection, water policy and regulation, and emerging threats to our shared water resources. What a wonderful opportunity to interface with those from industry, local governments, academia, and more who are tasked with managing our most valuable resource - the Catawba River system. A huge thanks to the Catawba Riverkeeper for hosting this event. Catawba-Wateree Water Management Group

Appreciate the opportunity from Catawba Riverkeeper to speak about protecting our source water through land preservation. Catawba Lands Conservancy and Carolina Thread Trail is working hard to preserve land so it can continue working for you in protecting drinking water supplies, filtering air pollution, and providing places to hike!

As the Charlotte region grows, protecting our #water is critical. Experts say regional cooperation will be the key. That's why about 100 people who work on or are concerned about our water supply gathered Wednesday for the first Central Catawba Basin Watershed Symposium in Belmont. The Catawba-Wateree system runs about 225 miles and provides drinking water for 2.5 million people. Yet management of water and wastewater is still a mostly local function. Sessions looked at opportunities for regional cooperation on water quality and monitoring, planning, stream restoration, and land conservation as well as current and needed policy and regulatory changes. One goal of the day was to introduce regional officials to one another and build a foundation for future collaboration, said John Searby of the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation, which convened the meeting. "You all are very busy day to day in your business unit, in your municipality, in your nonprofit, at your university, at your private business, and it's really easy to get blinders on," Searby said. "You all know inherently that the work that you do impacts people downstream. It impacts the people who live in your communities." #catawbariver #CLT #environment Catawba Riverkeeper

WOW!!! What a day we had at the first ever Central Catawba Basin Symposium at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden yesterday. More than 100 passionate professionals in the water, wastewater and stormwater industry as well as local leaders came together to discuss water quality, stormwater, regional coordination and the current state of affairs of our river basin. It was great spending time with my WR team: David Perry, Tobe Holmes, Joel Lenk and Amanda Whitaker. Amanda and Joel also got a chance to share their experience and knowledge discussing the funding landscape and stream restoration. Thanks to the Catawba Riverkeeper, Brandon Jones, Diana (Daniels) Knudsen, Ryan Carter and John Searby for all the work putting this event together. #waterislife #wrlife WithersRavenel #stormwaternerd

Have you ever been to a Floating Concert? Saturday's your chance! Join us at Fork Fest - a music and recreation festival along the South Fork! https://lnkd.in/gm2PhPYN

Patrons and protectors of the "hardest working river in America," Catawba Riverkeeper is tasked with keeping 8,900 miles of the Catawba-Wateree River Basin healthy and clean for generations to come.  No small goal, but they're up to the task! With a mission to “preserve, protect, and restore the waterways of the Catawba River through education, advocacy, and engagement," the organization takes a multi-prong approach to environmental conservation.  From large-scale clean-ups to community events, wherever Catawba Riverkeeper goes, there’s usually a Mastertent nearby, too. With the Catawba River nestled in the backyard of our Charlotte, NC headquarters, our team is proud to support the Catawba Riverkeeper mission and get out on the water. Read more about how Catawba Riverkeeper gets it done - https://lnkd.in/e2VR_Gvm . . . . . #mastertent #zingerlegroup #EarthMonth #CatawbaRiver #CatawbaRiverkeeper #ForOurWater #WavesOfChange #CatawbaRiverBasin

Curiosity. What I learned today. Catawba Riverkeeper is the only non-profit, on-the-water advocate for the entire 8,900 miles of waterways in the Catawba-Wateree River Basin in the Carolinas. The Catawba River flows through 26 counties in North and South Carolina and provides drinking water for more than 2 million residents and generates electricity for over 3 million residents. It has been aptly named “The Hardest Working River in America!”. I had the pleasure of paddling on this river over the weekend, and appreciate all the folks working to preserve and protect its water.

WELCOMING... our newest Unity Blaze Certified Partner, Catawba Riverkeeper. They are committed to Increasing Unity in the Outdoor Community and BEYOND. #WelcomeWednesday We are changing the world…one campfire at a time folks! The campfire in our logo is the Unity Blaze, and it means "You are Invited and Welcomed." The campfire is the portal to amazing conversations… your race, age, gender or ability are all recognized and respected. We ALL have something to say! Visit blackfolkscamptoo.com to learn more about us, our mission, and our newest Unity Blaze Certified Partner! Oh, check out our gear too… we think you’ll like our stuff! . . . #adventurebeyond #backpacking #hiking #outdoors #outdoorlife #icamptoo #rvlife #tentlife #yurtlife #cabinlife #campgroundlife #blackfolkscamptoo #unityblaze #unityblazecertified