What a year it has been at Catawba Riverkeeper!

Catawba Riverkeeper celebrated 25 years in 2023. Watch the video below for a inspiring reflection on Catawba Riverkeeper's past and look towards our future.

Protecting our river

• Sampled 55 different swimming areas this summer each week to test for bacteria. Swim Guide results were viewed 117,000 times!
• Piloted a Spider Lily restoration program in Great Falls, SC.
• Constructed beaver dam analogs on a tributary of Canoe Creek near Marion as a pilot restoration project with promising early results.
• Investigated 75 pollution reports.
• Paddled more than 1100 miles to investigate pollution reports and complete surveys of sections of the basin.
• Filed to join the clean water citizen suit against New-Indy papermill.
• Successfully advocated for a bipartisan stormwater mitigation bill to be introduce in the NC General Assembly.
• Published the State of the River Report and the Southern Catawba and Wateree River Basins Protection and Restoration Plans.
• Hired a South Fork Watershed Manager who is focused on improving the health of the largest tributary of the Catawba River.
• Established a new office and lab in the Northern Basin in Morganton, NC.

Education Programing

• Taught 1,817 K-12 students about their watershed through field trips and presentations.
• Provided environmental education and kayaking programs to 237 students through the summer CREEK program (sponsored by Crescent Communities).
• Hosted more than 100 adults in educational workshops through the Riverkeeper Learning Series (sponsored by Xylem Watermark).
  

Engagement Programing

• Hosted 25 on-the-water programs and countless kayak rental opportunities providing 720 people the opportunity to experience the river firsthand
• Provided meaningful volunteer experiences to 2,213 volunteers who served a total of 5,922 hours. Their time is valued at $177,358!
• Confluence hosted the first annual Fork Fest music festival, featuring a one-of-a-kind floating concert!
  

Taking out the trash!

• Removed 1,001 tires and 100,570 pounds of trash from our basin's water and shores!
• 1,670 volunteers participated in cleanups (THANK YOU!!).
• Organized 94 cleanup events, including Riversweep which took place at 51 locations across the basin.

Organizational Growth

• Grew to 8,414 members and volunteers (38% increase from 2022).
• Had 16,873 unique transactions at our retail locations (The Boathouse, The River Room, and Confluence) and online storefront.
• More than 2,000 people attended one of our community events like RiverFest, Jam at the Dam, Fork Fest, and the Christmas Market.
• Continued to grow our social media follower base and email newsletter list.