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Help us raise $40,000! Your donation before December 31st will be doubled by our generous Board of Directors!
Dear Friend,
What is important to you right now? To your family? To your community? I bet one answer would be to preserve and protect our greatest natural resources – rivers, natural areas, and wildlife. Because you are kind of person you are, I am happy to send you our FY2023 report.
Right now, you can protect and preserve the Verde River for and future generations. Make your year-end donation now to save the Verde.
The Verde and its cousins – Sycamore Creek, Oak Creek, Granite Creek, West Clear Creek, the East Verde, Wet Beaver Creek, and more, are all grateful to you. These are the places where you enjoy the fun times of summer and cooler fall adventures. Thanks to you, these quiet places of solitude or lively family outings can be continuously enjoyed.
“Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.” – Henry David Thoreau
On a warm sunny Saturday, surrounded by bright blue sky and water, my family and I tube-floated on the Verde River. My seven-year-old grandson loves bugs, crawdads, spiders, and is fascinated with their well-being. His six-year-old brother loves the tactile experience of water and squishy mud.
We experienced fresh air, coolness of the water and laughter as we raged the “rapids” in our mile and a half float. As I closed my eyes, I thought I could go to sleep right there, and began to drift.
I was in the moment with the river and my family. My thoughts drifted, and it came to me that this amazing afternoon would not be possible without your efforts to care for the Verde.
Your generosity and love for the Verde is mirrored in the eyes of wonder-seeking children who learn to love nature on wild rivers.
As we navigated the Verde waters, I was brought back to earth as I lit into the low-hanging branches of trees at the riverbank, causing spiders to ascend, fall into my hair, or into the tube in which I floated. Far from being frightened, I took a cue from my grandsons.
Showing his love for all of nature, my insect-loving grandson gently relocated the spiders. He even waded across the river to proudly show his dad how carefully he could handle Verde River critters.
You may love great blue herons or monarch butterflies more than spiders, but all of nature is intertwined. From the smallest to the largest, all the species that call the Verde home need your help. Your community and well-being also depend on the health of our rivers. Without healthy, flowing water, the Verde Valley won’t be the same. The Verde will no longer be enjoyed by all.
You can save the Verde and all our rivers and creeks in the Verde basin. You are the one who stands between success and the unthinkable.
Friends of the Verde River stretches every dollar as far as we possibly can. Even a small donation makes a big difference. I know you agree, and it seems that every year we all must stretch our dollars even more.
This year, with your support, we brought 476 students, mostly fifth-graders, out of their classrooms to learn about nature in the Verde Valley BioBlitz. Eighteen teachers and their students participated in the BioBlitz.
Your support allowed us to restore over 465 acres of riverside lands and reseed 40 acres of degraded land with native seeds.
Your support helped us to build new infiltration basins at Mingus Union High School that will capture, on average, 2 million gallons of rain each year. All that water will soak into the ground, restoring aquifers and preventing downstream erosion.
Your generous gift, no matter the amount, keeps the work going and the River flowing!
You want a future with a healthy, flowing Verde River and all its streams and creeks, like I do. Your gift now supports our streams, wildlife, birds, and vibrant communities.
Healthy rivers mean healthy communities!
During this season of giving, pick up a pen or go to our website, and chose the amount you want to give. We can’t save the Verde without you.
For the Verde – Birds, Wildlife and River –
With all my heart – and the grateful heart of the Verde – thank you!
Susan Van Norman
Stewardship Director
P.S. Your gift this giving season inspires us to keep working for the river. This year we are hoping to raise at least $40,000 to honor soon-to-be former Executive Director Nancy Steele. Nancy’s been guiding this ship down the Verde River since 2018 and now she is retiring. Honor Nancy and help us reach our goal by December 31st. A gift in any amount helps, but won’t you give $100 or more to the river?
P.P.S Remember, this year we have a matching fund! Every dollar you donate can be matched, one for one. But the amount is limited. Get your donation in early so that your money is doubled!
“All the water that will ever be is, right now.” – National Geographic
