Hi everyone!

Kyndall Thiessen, CRK’s Development Director here 👋🏻 Last week, I had the awesome opportunity to attend the @waterkeeperalliance Global Conference in Quito, Ecuador. Scroll to see all that I learned and experienced with other Waterkeepers from around the world ➡️ We participated in a “minga,” a collective community cleanup event. The term “minga” comes from the indigenous Quichua language and describes the community’s way of meeting each other’s needs. We had the opportunity to choose from a few activities around the Rio San Pedro. I joined a tour from Wiwa, a local wildlife refugee group. All of us Waterkeepers were excited to see the Rio San Pedro! After the minga, we communed over a “pambamesa,” or “community table,” for a lunch of delicious local foods. On the shore of the Rio San Pedro, we laid flower petals in honor of our local bodies of water. We then released the petals into the river with a wish for our home waterbodies. My wish, of course, was for the continued restoration of the Chattahoochee River. Back at the conference center, Waterkeepers from around the globe shared their expertise. I especially enjoyed this session on raising an audacious fundraising goal from @ottawariverkeeper.garderiviere. See my dreams for CRK on the whiteboard! Where else would a group of water lovers host their regional breakout meeting? Making new friends 🦙 On the final day of the conference, we visited the “Mitad del Mundo,” or “Middle of the World,” on the equator. I’m grateful for this group of people fighting for clean water across the globe! Thanks for reading! I’m excited to bring all that I learned from my peers back to Georgia to continue funding our fight for a clean and sustainable Chattahoochee River! 💙