Angelisa Belden - Communications Director To me, water = love. Fishing, floating, canoeing, boating – these activities were always done as a family or with friends, and to me are packed with memories of time spent with ones we loved. Jordan Bles - Director of Fundraising and Development I love how much my daughter loves water, and getting to play with her in it. Whether from starting swim lessons at an early age or watching her fearlessly wade up to a waterfall in Decorah, I love watching the formative memories already beginning to take hold. Kerri Johannsen - Energy Program Director Every spring as the snow started to melt, a rising creek would appear in the cow pasture that was my front yard. My sisters and I would be knee-deep in the water, wading through the cold rush and the tall grass. I remember this as a feeling of pure joy, belonging to the outdoors, being part of the spring surging of new life everywhere I looked and the water was the first sign. Jordan Oster - Energy Outreach and Advocacy Manager Walnut Creek is a narrow stream that runs through the geographically narrow city of Clive. Growing up, this tributary of the Raccoon River was a place for my early exploration of nature. Mike Schmidt - Staff Attorney My early memories of playing outside include visits to Aldrich Creek in Ida County, where I would build rock dams to make it easier to catch minnows, chubs, crayfish, frogs, and macroinvertebrates (though I just called them bugs). Going to the creek was a highlight of every trip to my aunt and uncle’s farm and taught me about the wildlife native to Iowa. Alicia Vasto - Water Program Director I grew up two blocks from the North Raccoon River in Adel. I’d characterize my love for the river as complicated. One of my earliest memories is of the flood of 1993. I remember my parents piling our furniture and belongings up like an island in the center of the dining room to protect them, seeing our neighbors build a wall out of sandbags to hold back the waters. Growing up, I explored the riverbanks with my friends, learned how to paddle, and alternately floated and dragged an innertube through the shallow waters during a float. Kristen Weaverling - Energy Communications Manager Growing up, my family would visit my grandparents who lived in Osage. During those trips, we’d often visit Spring Park. The riverside park sits alongside a peaceful stretch of the Cedar River where I have fond memories of sipping cool water from the spring, camping, hiking, skipping rocks, and learning how to fish. |