The Power of Collaboration

Working collaboratively to improve and protect Dayton’s natural resources, educate the public, and devote ourselves to service are activities we, the River Stewards, have accomplished this semester. 
Alone, I could never move a picnic table (I completely lack the upper body strength).  But with a group of 19 bright minded students, it would be no problem and this is just what my cohort and I did.  The River Stewards took a service trip to SunWatch, an authentic Native American village close to the Great Miami River, and moved 15 very heavy picnic tables in no time flat. Our leader at SunWatch said we worked well as a team and exceeded his expectations.  This exemplifies “the power of collaboration” the Rivers Institute fosters.     
© 2013 Natural Springs Resort
We are a diverse and very cool group of sophomores who, when we work together, can accomplish anything.  Diversity is one of the main reasons we work so well together because we apply interesting perspectives to accomplish our goals.  For instance, it was the engineering majors that figured out the best way to transfer the picnic tables.  With collaboration, little ideas turn into big actions which in turn impact the community.
A set of principles with emphasis on improving our community through sustained ecological initiatives such as education and servant leadership are instilled in every River Steward.   I believe River Stewards, both past and present, employ the perspectives of servant leadership and environmentalism in their everyday life.  We work together to promote and protect the Great Miami River Watershed and its surrounding community.  As we work within the community, we strive to set a positive example and hope that other community leaders will follow by helping to support The Rivers Institute mission to build opportunities for the Dayton Community by viewing our rivers as a key natural resource central to the communal, economic, aesthetic and ecological vitality of the region 

The Power of Collaboration by Danielle Patton

Working collaboratively to improve and protect Dayton’s natural resources, educate the public, and devote ourselves to service are activities we, the River Stewards, have accomplished this semester. 
Alone, I could never move a picnic table (I completely lack the upper body strength).  But with a group of 19 bright minded students, it would be no problem and this is just what my cohort and I did.  The River Stewards took a service trip to SunWatch, an authentic Native American village close to the Great Miami River, and moved 15 very heavy picnic tables in no time flat. Our leader at SunWatch said we worked well as a team and exceeded his expectations.  This exemplifies “the power of collaboration” the Rivers Institute fosters.     
© 2013 Natural Springs Resort
We are a diverse and very cool group of sophomores who, when we work together, can accomplish anything.  Diversity is one of the main reasons we work so well together because we apply interesting perspectives to accomplish our goals.  For instance, it was the engineering majors that figured out the best way to transfer the picnic tables.  With collaboration, little ideas turn into big actions which in turn impact the community.
A set of principles with emphasis on improving our community through sustained ecological initiatives such as education and servant leadership are instilled in every River Steward.   I believe River Stewards, both past and present, employ the perspectives of servant leadership and environmentalism in their everyday life.  We work together to promote and protect the Great Miami River Watershed and its surrounding community.  As we work within the community, we strive to set a positive example and hope that other community leaders will follow by helping to support The Rivers Institute mission to build opportunities for the Dayton Community by viewing our rivers as a key natural resource central to the communal, economic, aesthetic and ecological vitality of the region.

River Love,
Danielle Patton

Thin Places

Once upon a mini course Brother Brandon graced us with some beautiful words and some interesting things to think about. Particularly striking was his description of “thin places.” He explained that these could be places or people, landscapes or moments where the veil between Heaven and Earth is thin, where the spiritual realm touches the mortal, where the presence of God can be felt resonating from the ground to the air to the infinite sky and all things are connected. In these places the past and the future are irrelevant, the to-do lists are nonexistent, and the opinions of others are, to a great extent, powerless. There is simply peace. And understanding. And the knowledge that right here in this place or at this moment or with these people is exactly the right place to be. It’s an affirmation that you, me, we, belong. Here. Now.

A lot of us Stews experience these thin places within the program. Maybe some of us felt it at the paddle before school started when the sun was warm but the water was cool and we learned how to move as a unit. Or maybe at the campfire when the air was crisp but the fire was glowing and music filled the spaces between the stars. Maybe even just at mini course every Friday when we reunite with the people that share our common passion and adventurous spirit. I think we all recognize these “thin places” or “thin moments.” We run into them unexpectedly and we let them gently remind us to breathe. We let them lull us into awareness; nudge us into the world with a new perspective.

I think a big part of our goal as Stews is to make these places and moments more accessible to the entirety of the community. We want people on the river and at the parks and together in hope that they can feel it too—that they can feel connected and present and alive. We want them to see the beauty of nature and humanity and the remarkable way they are one. That incredible duality is why we’re all here. It’s what makes us love being stewards.

Keep the river love flowin’, y’all,

Anna Adami 

2016 Cohort 

Water, Water, Water!!

I know that many people have no idea where their water comes from, or have any idea how they get clean water. I know this because I used to be one of them. I used to have absolutely no idea how we got clean water in our showers, or how the River stayed so clean…until a few weeks ago.

During one of our mini courses, we were able to visit the Drinking Water Treatment Plant. During my two years of a resident in Dayton, I’ve come to learn how clean and valuable our drinking water is. I’ve also learned how much work goes into making sure this is possible.  All seven days of the week (regardless of the weather), people are working to make sure that Dayton has clean and high quality water pumping into every Dayton home/business/ or facility. With frequent pH checks and filtration/treatment areas, the employee’s at the Drinking Water Treatment Plant have much to do. They hold the responsibility of providing water to every citizen of Dayton everyday, without any room for mistakes.

Visiting the Drinking Water Treatment plant made me realize how much I used to take these employees and our clean water for granted. We are so lucky to live in a city that is capable of providing us with water that we can drink straight from the tap. We are so lucky to have people who are devoted to making sure that our water is of the highest quality. Above all, we are lucky to live in a city that has a treatment plant that is prepared! They have backup machines to their backups. They have a system that only reaches half of its capacity on a normal day, which means that if something were to happen, we have space to expand the water treatment and storage.

The fact that we have an abundant supply of clean water is incredible! I am so thankful for this and have learned a great deal about how we obtain clean water everyday. If you get the chance, you should tour the facility! It’s truly an eye opening experience.

So take a sip, water you waiting for J

Alicia

Junior Cohort Visits YSI

The Junior cohort recently visited YSI, Inc. to learn about their local and global impact on water quality monitoring and testing.  The group enjoyed a tour of the facility, seeing how the products are made, distributed, and how relationships are built within their "water community".