Our Mission

Our mission is to connect people to rivers through Source To Sea adventures, conservation, and education.

Our vision is a world where every person is an active and passionate river steward appreciating the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things.

Our values

  • Collaboration is key: working together is essential to creating a sense of belonging and a more sustainable world for ourselves and future generations.
  • We protect what we love: exposing people to the natural world leads to falling in love with a place; falling in love with a place contributes to our desire to conserve, protect, and preserve.
  • ALL people have the right to access and play in nature and the great outdoors.
  • Becoming an environmental steward is a way of showing gratitude for the planet that sustains us.
paddling grass photo
Chris Farris_river to reel_Tom Gomes
Canoes on the shore of the Lamprey
Girl jumping off paddleboard into the river
attendees at the Gorge Downwind Champs
truckee river paddlers
Student Ambassadors on the Colorado
Day 13. Celebrating at the beach!
Team Kayak Connection. Photo by Lisa Thomas.
Truckee Source to Sea Student Ambassador Team - Day 1

Our three core strategies include:

Connecting People to People

  • Fostering community dialogue about rivers
  • Cultivating relationships and networks
  • Acting as a conduit between geographically separate communities and organizations

Connecting People to Rivers

  • Actively engaging people in their backyard river
  • Building people’s understanding of a river from its source to the sea
  • Telling a river’s story from source to sea

Connecting Rivers

  • Building relationships between communities and organizations in different watersheds
  • Creating a visual representation of the interconnectedness of river

We bring these rivers directly into people’s lives. We connect communities with where their water comes from, how they can use these resources responsibly, and with the knowledge that we are all interconnected through our waterways. We emphasize our interconnectedness through paddling a river from source to sea, engaging communities along the way through public paddling days and river cleanups, working with youth on stewardship, and collecting scientific data along our expeditions,

Through exploring rivers, Rivers for Change aims to invoke a spirit of adventure, and an awareness of what threatens and undermines these special places. These deepening relationships with rivers inform and inspire individuals and communities to actively address the well-being of their watersheds.”

Read Our Story here.

Founded in 2011 by Danielle Katz and John Dye, we are a 501(c)(3) not for profit. EIN #37-1654861

Photo Credits: Claire Dibble, Tom Gomes, Brian Coggan