Coordinators: Eli Asarian, Riverbend Sciences, and Sarah Phillips, Marin Resource Conservation District
 

This session featured “lightning” (5 minutes or less) talks in which presenters share nuggets of hope and inspiration. On this heating planet, a career in ecological restoration is bound to have discouraging moments. In 1949, Aldo Leopold wrote “One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds.” However, given the current widespread understanding of global environmental degradation, you are no longer actually alone even if it sometimes feels like it. In addition, despite daunting challenges, all hope is not lost. Against all odds, the fish are still here. The world is still wondrous and beautiful. New generations are bringing diverse perspectives and re-envisioning the future. Come share your story! Here are some thought-provoking questions the coordinators posed to presenters:
 

Presenters shared a distilled and focused insight with the SRF community. Presenters wove their philosophical musings and heart-stirring experiences. Session Coordinators welcomed any and all to share their gems of wisdom that have carried them through the days, months, years, or decades. Participants left this session feeling replenished, motivated, energized, and connected.

 

The Future of Restoration is Bright, Alison O’Dowd, PhD, Department of Environmental Science & Management, Cal Poly Humboldt

 

Listening to the River with Youth, Shannon Wedgley, Scott River Watershed Council

 

A Watershed Runs Through You - Wisdom from Freeman House, Drew Barber, Vollmar Natural Lands Consulting

 

Sapiens, Braiding Sweetgrass, and Re-Envisioning Humanity’s Role on Planet Earth, Eli Asarian, Riverbend Sciences 

 

Recovery: the Common Ground Between Coho Salmon and Major Depressive Disorder, Elizabeth Ruiz, California Department of Fish and Wildlife

 

Help the Fish *and* Help the People, Julie Weeder, NOAA Fisheries

 

Lessons from Tyson Yunkaporta’s Aunties, Mary Power, UC Berkeley, Angelo Coast Range Reserve

 

Hitch Magic, Kevin Swift, Swift Water Design

 

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Approach to Keeping Your Batteries Charged: One Fish Biologist’s Perspective on Inspiration & Lesson Learned, Sarah Beesley, MS, Yurok Tribe Fisheries Department

 

River Ecologist: Profession or Disease? Bill Trush, Cal Poly Humboldt River Institute

 

Close Encounters of the Coho Kind, Jonathan Warmerdam, North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board

 

Proof of Concept, Erik Stromberg, PLA, CERP, Restoration Design Group, Inc.

 

A Lightning Lightning Tale, Karen Pope, PhD, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station

 

Fire, Floods & Finding Hope: The Hulsman Ranch Story, Garrett Costello, Symbiotic Restoration

 

Mostly Natural- Collaborative Management Strategies in the Trinity River, CA, Justin Alvarez, Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries

 

It Takes More Than a Village: Restoration / Reconciliation of the Laguna de Santa Rosa, Clayton Creager, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation