Big River Foundation

Rating: 5 stars   2 reviews

Issues:

Location: Rio Grande Plaza One South Main Avenue Laredo TX 78040 USA

Mission: The Big River Foundation mission is to teach communities throughout the Americas to value the vital role rivers play in the web of life. The Foundation incubates educational programs that foster respect and appreciation for river ecology and conservation, utilizing kayaking, canoeing, and rafting to explore rivers, their tributaries and watersheds.
Geographic areas served: The Americas

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Community Reviews

Rating: 5 stars  

Over 750,000 people participated in some form of river recreation around Texas last year. Les than 1/10th of 1 percent of them engaged in it on the Rio Grande.

Despite year round warm weather and reliable flow. Despite being home to the greatest avian biodiversity in the United States. Despite the presence of some of the most historic cities in the country, the Rio Grande remains our most overlooked and under exploited river.

For most places through which it flows the Lower Rio Grande is neither dirty, nor dangerous and nowhere is it illegal to enter. The Big River Foundation was created to dispel those misunderstandings and to help people on both sides of the Border make better use of this, the region's original and still singularly most important resource for all who live there.

Because my primary colleague in this effort makes his home in Panama, and because Western Panama and the border with Costa Rica has its own rivers and shared problems, we collaborate on project efforts there as well.

I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...

National press has consistently followed our efforts to demonstrate the positive attributes of the Lower Rio Grande. National Public Radio's Morning Edition featured our efforts in August of 2008. Associated Press wrote about how our efforts were threatened by the proposed Border Wall. The Wall Street Journal covered the Laredos RioFest in October 2009.

If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...

Provide more river guide training opportunities for area biology, nursing and rehabilitative therapy students and professionals

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Rating: 5 stars  

My involvement with Eric Ellman's projects has been deeply gratifying. I have always admired his passion for protecting rivers, the ecology and the environment.



I am proud to support The Big River Foundation's vision to create educational experiences which promote watershed conservation.



“In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we have been taught.” - Baba Dioum, 1968

I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...

I've grown by participating in the foundation's projects with the River Systems Institute and the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission, laying the groundwork to bring nature into the classroom, and to get students into nature.

If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...

My goal is to recruit more volunteers and financial contributions for this admirable cause. Healthy rivers are essential to healthy communities.

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