What it is so great about being a River Steward? By Zack Valigosky

This past Friday, in our mini course, we watched Blue Gold: World Waters. This was a very good documentary about the depletion of the world's water resources. Anyone could watch this documentary on their own, and think to themselves, "Wow! This is a real issue that I need to address!" But that one person may find difficulty in having a noticeable effect in their community. What if there was a group of 15 to 17 people who had also watched this documentary and had similar opinions to yours on how to address this issue? That group is River Stewards and through this group, my cohort is able to tackle any issue head-on. If we wanted to address the overuse of water on our campus, we can. Would that single person who watched the documentary be able to do this? Maybe, but I could imagine it would be challenging. The same goes for other issues too. If my cohort wanted to address the issue of impermeable surfaces on campus, we can. If we wanted to address the issue of renewable energy sources on campus we can. Before River Stewards I could not even dream about the possibilities that the Rivers Institute can offer to students who want to address issues of sustainability, energy, environment, and stewardship. I am very excited to see what we can accomplish with the opportunity we have been given.