|  |  |  | Gifts the River Gives Us In the giving season, it’s only natural to lift up the many gifts we receive from our rivers and streams. There are the obvious practical benefits: water for drinking, cooking, washing, and sustaining gardens, domestic animals, and fisheries. There are the critical ecosystem services, like storage and delivery of nutrients to flood plains, and support of habitats for diverse wildlife. And: there’s increasing evidence that spending time outdoors near water—our "blue spaces"---significantly boosts mental health, reducing stress and anxiety while increasing happiness, awe, and overall well being. Research suggests it’s facilitated by water's restorative sounds, calming visuals, fresh air, and the connection to other living things we experience in these settings. Even just a view of water from a window has measurable positive neurophysical effects. Of course, river lovers everywhere understand this intuitively. RiverLink’s efforts to restore and revitalize local waterways are an investment in community well being. Our projects use nature as the guide to improve the condition of the French Broad River and create amenities that enhance the human communities alongside her. Read on to learn how our programs are working to give back for all she gives us, and ensure the health of our life-giving waters (and ourselves). |
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|  |  | Gifts of Connection Each year, RiverLink educates upward of 5,000 K-12 students in the French Broad River watershed about freshwater ecology and conservation. We provide engaging discovery experiences where students explore local waterways, think like a scientist, and deepen their connections to the land and its waters. When young people understand the ecological spaces they inhabit, they are more likely to engage in stewardship action with their families, convert their friends, and carry this mindset into adulthood. As children begin to embody this knowledge, each time they step outside—through the rustle of wind in fallen leaves or in ripples across the river—they begin to care. In understanding the water supply above and below ground, and the pollutants that can leach into it—they come to care about the river, and what it means when sediment piles in and muddies the water where they would swim. They come to see how connected we actually are. The gift of environmental education is an invitation to grow. Children are developing adult agency with every experience; engagement with nature influences what action they will take when the planet’s environmental integrity is threatened. Each moment spent turning over rocks in the creek to look for aquatic life, or taking measurements for water quality as the slow, cold water moves across exposed toes—each is an opportunity to understand what humans are— another node in the web of life on Earth. We are the last line of defense against threats to the river’s health, and through these discovery experiences, youth understand that only we can protect these living waterways. |
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|  |  | Gifts of Restoration “For rivers run through people as surely as they run through landscapes. They hydrate not only our bodies, but also our languages, songs, memories and stories. We are all part of the water cycle. Everyone lives in a watershed.” – Robert Macfarlane About 4,000 miles of rivers and streams flow into the French Broad River, connecting every last resident to her flowing waters. In a water-rich environment like ours, there is always at least a little water nearby, though it may be hidden in the soil. RiverLink takes action for these ribbons of fresh water and when they need help, our projects can restore them. Our Watershed team has repaired some 13,000 feet of damaged stream bank this year alone. The health of our community is inextricably linked with the health of our rivers and streams. RiverLink is committed to the long-term work of restoration. Each time we plant a tree to re-establish a riparian buffer, we offer hope and resilience for the future—enabling future generations to enjoy cleaner streams where neighborhood children are drawn play on streambanks, and freshwater mussels may once again be found in healthy numbers in the rivers’ beds. |
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|  |  | Gifts of Perpetuity If we want to improve water quality, it’s essential to consider the health of the adjacent land. The act of protecting land for conservation is a profound and lasting gift to nature and humanity. RiverLink’s work as a land trust safeguards 34 natural areas through conservation easements and acquisitions, ensuring these areas remain protected in perpetuity. When adding land to our portfolio, we often take neglected or contaminated property in a floodplain and remediate it to improve water quality, create habitat for wildlife, provide public access, and increase flood resilience. These places offer a sanctuary in urban spaces that lead with conservation rooted in nature. Here, native plants provide food and shelter for a variety of species; permeable soils capture stormwater, releasing it slowly back to the nearest stream; and riparian vegetation protects the banks from erosion and provides a valuable corridor for wildlife. By creating public access on these sites--empowered by hundreds of volunteers each year--we create opportunities for people to experience a more natural ecosystem within city limits, so all can connect with the natural world and each other in a way that strengthens the essential relationship between a community and the land that sustains it. |
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|  |  | Gifts That Energize the Work Water is one of the great unifiers—a shared resource that requires thoughtful cooperation if its many gifts are to be sustained. Community support is essential, as we create and enhance green spaces that improve the French Broad and her tributaries as places to live, learn, work and play. If you share our passion for healthy waters, please consider investing in our work. If you have made a contribution to our 2025 Annual Fund, we thank you—you have helped restore and revitalize local streams recovering from a devastating disruption, not to mention ongoing threats from insensitive development. If you are in a position to make a gift now, your investment will energize RiverLink’s work for living streams in all these ways in the year to come. Thank you! |
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| | Other News -
RiverLink is partnering with NC State Cooperative Extension for a series of streambank repair workshops in January and February, 2026. FREE half-day and full-day workshops will teach the basics, and there will be an additional opportunity for serious river lovers to get certified in streambank repair. View the schedule here. -
The City of Asheville is gathering input on the redesign and recovery of its riverfront parks. Take a moment to complete the survey which closes tomorrow, December 19. This is your chance to speak up for the river! |
| | Thanks for being part of our French Broad River community! |
| RiverLink promotes the environmental and economic vitality
of the French Broad River and its watershed. Please join us with a gift today! |
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