Three “River Captains” Recruited for River Ambassador Program – Volunteers will be on the river starting July 4th

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River Captains for River Ambassador Program: Kelsie Greer, Terra Nyssa and Andrew Collins-Anderson at Highway 49 Crossing

SYRCL’s recently announced River Ambassador program has taken off to an excellent start with a dozen volunteers signed on and the hiring of three “River Captains” who will be training with and working alongside the volunteers in their effort to educate and motivate visitors of the river about keeping the environment safe and clean.

“We’re pleased that the River Ambassador program has attracted both current SYRCL volunteers and others who are joining us for the first time,” says Caleb Dardick, SYRCL Executive Director. “This is the kind of program that really showcases our community’s commitment to the river and what SYRCL is all about. We were also fortunate to attract three extremely talented individuals as River Captains who will be joining the SYRCL staff for the summer to coordinate the logistics for the volunteers and accompany them on their weekend and holiday shifts.”

“We were looking for River Captains who were familiar with the river and passionate about preserving it and we found them,” continued Dardick.

Kelsie Greer, a graduate student in Architectural History at the University of Oregon brings her passion for community building and the environment to the position.  “I was largely inspired to do this work because of SYRCL’s Wild and Scenic Film Festival that draws so many creative and amazing minds together under a passion for film and the environment,” says Kelsie. “Plus, like many growing up in Nevada County, there is a special place in my heart for the Yuba River.”

“I am very excited to be working with and meeting all the amazing people that visit the Yuba!  I can’t wait to hear everyone’s stories, and feel our community’s passion for this amazing resource,” says Andrew Collins-Anderson who is a recent graduate from Humboldt State University in Environmental Ethics.

Terra Nyssa is a local professional artist and independent filmmaker who has been volunteering with SYRCL for more than 12 years in a variety of capacities. “Success of this program would be for individuals of this community to take to heart the understanding of good stewardship.  People come to the river for enjoyment and we want everyone to be able to walk away with that feeling of, I Love the Yuba and I want to take care of it,” states Terra.

SYRCL’s new River Ambassador Program focuses on educating and motivating the thousands of annual visitors to the Yuba River to help keep the area clean, safe and healthy every weekend over the course of the summer between July 4 and September 15 including Fourth of July and Labor Day Holidays.  The program will target two heavily used river crossings along the South Yuba River, the Highway 49 Bridge and Purdon Crossings in the South Yuba River State Park.  Ambassadors will be trained on how to educate visitors about river stewardship and to encourage responsible behaviors at the river.  Ambassadors will not be trained to be park rangers or police and will have no enforcement responsibilities.

SYRCL is seeking a dozen more dedicated volunteer River Ambassadors to commit to at least five shifts (3 hours each).  Training will take place in mid-July for new volunteers.

Please join us in welcoming River Captains Kelsie, Andrew and Terra on July 4th for our first official day on the river at both Purdon and Highway 49 crossings. We are looking forward to their leadership and inspiration for the River Ambassadors Program.

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