A rescue effort heading into the final hours of Raise the Region 2024 offers some clarity, renewed focus

In the midst of mailings and Raise the Region social media posts, a cell phone call came in on the Riverkeeper line with an ongoing major pollution case in the northern section of our vast 11,00o square-mile watershed. 

It isn't a new issue, or unfortunately a small one. Sadly, it is a massively large, ongoing topic that we have been researching that is connected to numerous resources. In fact, there are many big topics right now on the front burner, things that are both time-sensitive and far-reaching. 

Lacking sleep and in desperate need of both vitamin D and a break, I decided it was time to leave the laptop for a few minutes and check on the small vernal pools on the outskirts of Sunbury that we have been monitoring the past couple years. 

The weather, of course, is amazing. They really shouldn't schedule Raise the Region during weather like this. It isn't fair for those of us who tackle these sort of fundraising campaigns locked up in an office zeroed in on a laptop emanating  emails and polishing posts. 

The vernal pools looked great ... so much better since we have posted signage helping people realize their value and the importance of not using them as BMX mud ramps. Atop of each floated a nice jelly-like cluster of wood frog eggs.

Unfortunately, that included one smaller vernal pool that was just about dried up. With no real rain in the forecast, the odds of those eggs making it were slim to none. So, I scooped them up and placed them carefully in the neighboring pool just a few inches away. It is the main pool, one that stays wet year-round, and the one with the most robust population of egg clusters. 

The odds of those wood frog eggs making it likely is still small ... there is a reason these frogs lay so many eggs. I doubt I changed the trajectory of their lifecycle too much with the act, yet I gave them at least a smallish better chance of survival. 

It helped me feel better about the circumstances at the office. Yes, I couldn't fix all the major river-related issues of our 11,000-square-mile watershed in one sitting or one year or likely one lifetime. But, I could, in that moment, fix the potential issues of the aquatic ecosystem of the four-square-inch section of palm those eggs rested on as I scooped them up and moved them over to the bigger pool. Sometimes, a change in perspective can offer a very valuable recharge.

And the object lesson goes beyond that. Our financial needs can be just as intimidating. We put it out there that the Vernal School Environmental Education Partnership is trying to raise money toward the Goose Woods Trail Improvement Project during Raise the Region. We listed the total cost of that project as $50,000. Perhaps that is a mistake ... it makes a $25 donation feel insignificant in the grand scheme of knowing the bigger need. Just know that every $25 donated in this campaign toward this project means that $25 doesn't need to come from a different fund that we use at the preserve for an educational program or some other need.

In other words, don't lose perspective. Think of those wood frog eggs.

Our association works hard to put every donation to use the best way it can, and you never know ... that $25 could become the life jacket or kayak paddle that is used by the kid in our HERYN program that goes on to be inspired to pursue a career in this work and fixes the major issues that we now face that seem so massively daunting and overwhelming. 

We are down to the final hours of Raise the Region and our association is still in contention for a number of bigger cash awards. In fact, from 7-8 p.m., we are hoping to gain the most new additional "unique" donors to win a $1,000 cash prize. Your $25 donation during that time period could be the one that puts us over the edge. 

Beyond the donating, we could use help volunteer-wise. There are number of big programs coming up. You could help offer environmental education or pull water samples or be a regional Sentinel. Take a few minutes and fill out our online Susquehanna Survey to tell us more about yourself. We'd love to find a way to get you involved! 

One of those ways, regionally, is via a paid part-time Regional Director for our North Branch area. You can learn about that opportunity here. 

And, until 11:59 p.m. tonight (Thursday, March 14, 2024), you can donate to the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association's Raise the Region page by clicking here.