When I first sat down to write this email about World Water Day, I found it hard to concentrate. The COVID-19 crisis—and its effects on Oregon's families and communities—has been weighing heavily on all of us. This is a difficult time for Oregon, and for the world.
As we continue to do our part to self-quarantine and keep a safe distance from one another, staying connected over email/social media is more important than ever. Being part of a digital community makes a huge difference during times like these, and we’re beyond grateful to have you as part of ours.
Today is World Water Day, and people all around the world are joining forces to raise awareness about the importance of water. World Water Day is a day to share what water means to us—how critical it is to have clean drinking water, and how much it means to communities to have access to healthy waterways for recreation, fishing, boating, and more.
We are joining with our friends at Oregon Environmental Council (OEC) to celebrate World Water Day by collecting #MyWaterWhy stories from people all across Oregon. Will you share yours?
Your #MyWaterWhy story can focus on any of the ways that you connect with water. It can be about the tap water coming out of your kitchen sink. It can be about your favorite spot along the Willamette. It can be about the time you went kayaking at Waldo Lake last summer—how the sun reached down into the clean, clear water, and you felt like you were floating on glass. Or it can be about climate change—how you’ve noticed that the river is lower in summer, and the floods are worse in the spring than they used to be.
When I think of my own #MyWaterWhy, I think of how lucky I am to live in a land of rivers. The Willamette, the Columbia, the Tualatin, the Sandy, the Santiam, and so many more. I grew up swimming in these waters, and I return to them again and again.
The outdoors is one of the only places we can still visit during the coronavirus crisis. Yesterday, I headed down to the Willamette and watched the dark water flow slowly north. I threw a stone in and watched it ripple. And for an hour or so I simply stood, and listened to the crows call, and felt the wind ease across the water.
Here in Oregon, we live in a water wonderland. It’s up to us to protect Oregon's water resources for generations to come. It's up to us to make sure that all people have access to clean drinking water, and outdoor spaces where they can see great blue herons glide slowly across a sunset sky, or watch salmon spawning upstream in a flurry of reds and pale-pinks.
We'll be reaching out about more ways to stay connected with one another, too, and ways to make a difference while we’re physically distanced. Thank you for sharing your #MyWaterWhy story, and thank you for helping us stand together as a community.
Best,
Francesca Varela
Digital Coordinator, OLCV
