Give gifts that give back! Brand new note cards featuring native animals to our watershed | Purchase here
2019 was a year of wins for water! On behalf of the Waterkeeper Team, we’d like to thank you for your support and highlight some successes we’ve experienced as an organization.
- Coordinated over 2,000 volunteers at the Shoreline Sweep to pick up over 20 tons of trash from 60 sites throughout the Niagara River Watershed on a single day
- Major site enhancements have been made at the Buffalo Blueway sites including a colorful Blueway mural at Buffalo Riverworks, water safety signage at Wilkeson Pointe and the signature Buffalo Blueway marker at Mutual Riverfront Park
- Engaged with over 8,500 people at community engagement events
- Restored 2 acres and 5,280 linear feet of shoreline at Spicer Creek, while installing 7,622 plants
- Engaged over 1,000 volunteers in picking up over 6 tons of trash from 40 sites throughout the watershed as part of the Monthly Waterway Cleanup Program
- Planted over 1,800 plants and restored 350 feet of shoreline while creating an acre of habitat at Tifft Nature Preserve
- Engaged with 1,498 individuals, distributed 994 copies of printed materials to educate community members regarding health risks and best practices associated with eating locally caught fish
- Hosted 14 planting events and planted 410 trees with 458 volunteers at Ellicott Creek
- Facilitated 31 tours with 449 attendees in our Watershed
- Planted 7,938 aquatic plants and 679 trees and shrubs in Forest Lawn and restored a total of 3.76 acres
- Distributed 75 rain barrels to residents of a headwaters community that regularly experiences excess stormwater runoff which contributes to nutrient pollution
- Helped guide efforts to begin to naturalize the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park shoreline
- Spent 150 hours teaching and mentoring Young Environmental Leaders Program students from Niagara Falls and Buffalo
- Installed seven education storm drain stencils to serve as a reminder of stormwater and pollutant contributors to surface water
- Reached 157,956 people through our top ten advocacy posts in 2019
- Transformed a dilapidated auto body shop along the bank of Scajaquada Creek into a public access site and urban forest with the demolition of existing buildings, grading of the site and installation of 19 trees, 12 shrubs, and numerous wildflowers and ornamental grasses
- Engaged 198 people through the Buffalo River Speaker Series
- Improved 800 linear feet of shoreline improvements at Little Beaver Island by planting 118 trees,1380 shrubs, 5000 wetland plants, and creating fresh water muscle habitat and turtle nesting beaches
