Dear Riparian Restoration Conference-goer,
For the past 20 years, our Annual Conference has served as a hub for land managers, watershed groups, scientists, private landowners, students, consultants, etc.; drawing crowds upwards of 200 people from over 15 states and sometimes multiple countries.
As one of the organizers of this event, I may be a little biased, but I think this conference is undoubtedly one of the best places to meet and reunite with like-minded people who share a common interest to care for and steward rivers and riparian habitat. Planning the event is a labor of love but the collaboration and connections that are made pay us back ten-fold.
With that said, I am writing you today to announce that RiversEdge West's conference will move to a biennial format, with the conference being hosted on even-numbered years. In the opposite years (odd-numbered), we will focus our efforts on hosting hands-on, local workshops, field tours, and interactive webinars that will be guided by the needs of our partners and the restoration community (you!).
Moving to a biennial format will allow us to present novel content and, in the opposing year, provide opportunities to reach new audiences with experiential local, regional, and state-driven workshops and training where it is needed most. Unlike our conference where we are committed to a central location with a large groundswell of support, these smaller workshops and webinars will have the ability to span a larger geography, focus on topics better tailored to a specific region, and reach a more diverse audience.
We love connecting with you at our conference and want to emphasize that this gathering remains an important priority for us as a method to foster cross-sector collaboration and information sharing, and we can't wait to gather with you at our next conference in 2024! In the meantime, keep an eye out for upcoming workshops and webinars from us in 2023.
It is our mission to advance the restoration of riparian lands, and a critical piece of that puzzle is hosting educational gatherings that are of value to you and the work that you do. As always, if you have a comment or suggestion, please reach out to me.
Thanks for all that you do. I look forward to connecting with you at one of our upcoming educational events soon!
For rivers,
Cara Kukuraitis
Communications and Education Director
ckukuraitis@riversedgewest.org
RiversEdge West
