Wilma Dykeman, 2007 Bill Russell River Hero

In the introduction to her book, The French Broad, Wilma Dykeman writes, "…this is the chronicle of a river and a watershed, and a way of life where yesterday and tomorrow meet in odd and fascinating harmony... Dwellers of the French Broad country are learning an ancient lesson in all their natural resources; it is easy to destroy overnight treasures that cannot be replaced in a generation, easy to destroy in a generation that which cannot be restored in centuries."

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Keith Aitken joins the RiverLink team

Keith has been hired to represent Riverlink as the new Volunteer Coordinator. More passionately known as "Zog", Keith comes to Riverlink with a strong commitment to volunteerism and the French Broad Watershed.

Keith is a native of a small river town in western PA, an adoptive son of another small river town in Kentucky and a ten year resident of Western North Carolina. He attended the University of Kentucky-GO CATS- earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry and a minor in agriculture giving him a solid foundation for his professional career. Keith was also very active with the Bluegrass Wildwater Association and the National Paddling Film Festival as the silent auction guru and sponsorship coordinator.

During the last ten years in the Asheville area Keith has worked for many non profits organizations, Appalachian Voices and American Whitewater to name a few. Much of his professional experience comes from the NC Division of Forest Resources where he served as a SPB Technician, Educational Ranger, and an FIA Forester.

Keith has supplemented his professional career through volunteerism, serving such organizations as the Kentucky YMCA Youth Association, Greenville YMCA, Greek Orthodox Church Diakonia Center, Windhorse Zen Community, Kentucky Heartwood and other grassroots organizations.

Keith is looking forward to the challenges ahead, mastering the current volunteer program and starting new ones.

He spends time with his beautiful baby boy Liam and his super excellent wife Jana when not empowering others, working or volunteering.  Creek hiking, Kayaking, Surfing and hanging with team occupy the rest of his life.

For more information about RiverLink's Volunteer Programs, contact Keith at (828) 252-8474 x.118, volunteer@riverlink.org, or visit http://www.riverlink.org/volunteer.asp . RiverLink holds monthly volunteer information sessions the first Wednesday of every month at 4:00- the next session is October 3.

Former Volunteer Coordinator, Kathryn Blau, recently completed the Americorps Project Conserve program and is staying on with RiverLink as the Education Coordinator. Kathryn will be bringing RiverLink's Watershed Education programs to K-12 students throughout the French Broad River watershed.

On two warm September days, 47 students from Asheville High School's School of Inquiry and Life Sciences (SILSA) program learned about water quality in Reed Creek in the UNC Asheville Botanical Gardens. The "Kids in the Creek" program involves sampling macroinvertebrate insects, which indicate a Pollution Tolerance Index. Students also took water samples to test for different chemical properties of the creek. Overall, students discovered that Reed Creek has Fair water quality, probably due to stormwater runoff from nearby roads.

The Colburn Earth Science Museum's Science Sisters Club had a visit from RiverLink for their first meeting this fall- the club invites local women scientists to lead girls in hands-on science activities. Kathryn led this group of future scientists in a Project WET Sum of the Parts lesson- each girl got a chance to design her own piece of riverfront property, and learn about the impact of development on water quality and downstream neighbors.

For more information on RiverLink's Watershed Education program contact Kathryn at (828) 252-8474 x.111, education@riverlink.org, or visit www.riverlink.org/programs.asp#enviro_ed.