Friends,
I have a favorite document in our archives. It isn’t a map of our oyster reef in Glebe Bay, or a set of engineering plans from a wetland we’ve restored, or a photo of kids planting native grasses on a shoreline dune. Sure, each of those put a smile on my face, but my favorite document – the one that ultimately made those smiles possible – is a boring, bureaucratic piece of paper timestamped February 28, 2000 at 10:02 AM, declaring:
On that day, 25 years ago, our parent organization was born to meet a moment. After decades of pollution, leaders in Annapolis and Washington were beginning to devise cleanup plans for tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. Our predecessors seized the opportunity by securing grants for restoration work, working with communities to grow baby oysters, educating homeowners about bay-friendly lawncare practices, and advocating to public officials to stop sprawling developments and fix aging stormwater infrastructure.
With your backing over the last 25 years, we have built upon that foundation. We’ve completed dozens of successful stormwater restoration projects, launched RIVERKEEPER, pumpout boat, and education programs, passed county and statewide stormwater and forest protection laws, merged with our neighbors to protect the West and Rhode Rivers, and championed the restoration of our underwater grasses and oysters.
Now, 25 years later, we face a different kind of moment that will require us to stand even taller than we have before to heal our waters and make our communities more resilient.
As we embark on that work to meet this new moment, I am thrilled to share with you that we have a new mission to guide us. It is a mission that honors our roots while reflecting the scope and leadership of our growing programming.
“Deeply rooted in the South, West, and Rhode Rivers, Arundel Rivers Federation heals and protects our waterways and champions clean water across Maryland.”
In the coming months, our team will craft strategies to meet this new mission and I can promise you that one of our key strategies will always be you. YOU have given us the strength to meet every moment over these past 25 years and YOU are the reason we are ready to meet this moment today.
Thank you for 25 years of dedication–and for standing with us as we embark on the next 25.
Together, we are Arundel Rivers!
Matt Johnston
Executive Director