Salmonid Restoration Federation
March 26 - 29, 2024
Santa Rosa, California

Lightning Tales: Sharing Stories of Inspiration and Hope

Coordinators: Eli Asarian, Riverbend Sciences Sarah Phillips, Marin Resource Conservation District Description
 
This session will feature “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 to help your brain start flowing:
 
  • What motivates you to keep going?
  • Who has had the greatest impact on you and why?
  • What do you know now that you wish someone had told you years or decades ago?
  • What is your favorite book/article/lecture/quote, and how does it guide and/or inspire you?
  • What have you found to be a hidden gem that needs more time in the limelight? 
Share a distilled and focused insight with the SRF community. Weave your philosophical musings and heart-stirring experiences. We welcome any and all to share their gems of wisdom that have carried them through the days, months, years, or decades. Be brave. Whether this is your first conference or you’re an old-timer, we want to hear from anyone who is willing to step up and inspire our restoration community. We aspire for people to leave this session feeling replenished, motivated, energized, and connected. A similar session in 2022 was well-received, so by popular demand we are convening a new round!
 
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, Cassie Pinnell, 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