ECOS: Experience-Connect-Observe-Stewardship

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The vision of the Mother Lode River Center is the achievement of “healthy people, living in equitable and sustainable societies, in balance with the natural world.” This vision requires an integrated, ecological approach that combines all three of these components and treats each as essential.

Our mission, the promotion of river conservation through environmental education and stewardship, supports this vision. We pursue this mission by facilitating hands-on activities in natural settings, all of which are river based. Our activities are organized into four basic programs: whitewater boating, challenge ropes, outdoor education and conservation/sustainable practices. Each of these programs begins with “challenge by choice” and ends with accomplishments of various kinds. The essence of challenge is that it pushes individual and group comfort zones. It is crucial that participants understand the nature of the risks they take, and choose to participate willingly in an atmosphere of support and safety. It is also essential that they are fun, and we love to have fun!

It is when fun, the richness of natural encounter, and team effort dynamically combine that such Experiences lead to a strong sense of Connection with nature, in the process improving our ability to Observe it, and ultimately motivating us to engage in acts of Stewardship of the natural world. We call this process ECOS. The desire to conserve and cherish wild nature in turn provides the impetus for conservation activism such as letter writing. Taking personal responsibility to change the world is an empowering act, particularly when it succeeds in a cause one cares about deeply.

Our choice of the South Fork of the American River as the location of our camp has always suited us well. Not only does our camp have a rich history stretching back thousands of years as a site of a Nisenan village, it is also located in the valley where one of the largest mass migrations of humankind occurred during the California Gold Rush. The almost unbelievable ecological destruction that occurred here due to gold mining is visible today only to the practiced eye. This remarkable healing has happened in less than 160 years and is a source of hope that current trends worldwide could potentially be reversed.

Everyone at the River Center shares a profound sense of connection to rivers and we take deep satisfaction in sharing our love of them with others. Rivers are especially well suited for our educational programs because they play so many essential roles in the ecosystem. They have also been central to human history. We know that all the major ancient civilizations began on or near rivers, and modern man has located the world’s major cities on them. The Native Americans referred to rivers as “ the veins of the Earth” and regarded them with a sense of reverence. We believe that reverence is justified.

Mother Lode is now well into its fourth decade and has a rich history, many proud traditions, and substantial accomplishments. We hope you will join us on our journey. Together, it is much more likely that we will succeed.

Ultimately our mission is expressed through our actions, to do our part as stewards of the Earth’s climate, in 2007 we wrote the Mother Lode Greenhouse Gas Action Plan or GAP. We are pleased to report that through conservation measures, the use of solar hot water heating, using 100% waste vegetable oil in vehicles such as the ECOBus, and our permaculture garden, we have achieved a 30% overall reduction in our carbon footprint as of the end of the 2008 season. This is well ahead of our initial goal adopted from the recommendations of the IPCC or Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for a 20% reduction by 2012.

Once we began sharing the details of our efforts to address climate change with our participants last year, their desire to be involved became obvious. Our participants enthusiastically participated in successful letter writing campaigns in support of the extension of the federal Investment Tax Credit for Solar Power and California State Congresswoman Loni Hancock’s AB 2855 to establish “green jobs” training academies for our schools in California.

The success of these efforts will continue in 2009 as we offer our new Sustainable Practices Program. These educational offerings range from self guided tours of the Solar Energy Exploratorium, to an optional brief seminar before your river trip, to our hands-on programs in renewable energy technology that last a half day or longer.

We enthusiastically invite you to join us this season for another great year of outdoor adventure, fun and learning. Whether your choice is River Rafting, Challenge Ropes, Outdoor Education, Sustainable Practices, or a combination of these programs, rest assured our focus remains on doing everything possible to make your experience enjoyable, memorable and of the highest quality. Our guides, facilitators and educators all have one goal – to exceed your expectations and achieve 100% satisfaction.