This is a great way for the public to get in touch with the Cantara spill and the recovery of the river. Driven by a core team of a small staff and a large group of volunteers, the River Exchange Project has almost as many facets to it as the river herself. The Project includes an information clearinghouse, the River Exchange Drop-In Center, the School Link Program, and a community relations and public involvement program. Diane Strachan, Community Relations Coordinator, has a background in environmental science, river rafting, and a love for the watershed that runs deep. People need education about the inherent integrity and value of the river in and of itself.
Stewardship starts with awareness and interest, and continues with involvement.
In this context, stewardship by the public becomes a kind of global ownership and management, a way for non-landowners to take responsibility for protection and wise use of an ultimately unpossessable natural asset. Consequently, there is an affinity factor in building involvement when there is no direct benefit to any one individual, but rather a collective benefit for the greater whole. People tend to feel sympathetic toward a common cause when their opinions are sought out and considered, particularly in a planning process. Therefore, the many programs of the River Exchange Project offer multiple opportunities to become involved on different levels. The challenge has been to raise awareness and garner support for stewardship activities from a population that relates to the river in ways that are often at odds with one another.