We are honored by the dozens of volunteers that work with us every month. Whether spending an afternoon planting trees with our James River Buffer Program, taking weekly water samples as a Water Quality Monitor volunteer, or patrolling a section of river a few times a year as a James RiverRat – we value your time and commitment to your river!

For National Water Quality month, we asked a few volunteers to share their motivation to volunteer and their connection to the James. Here is Mark, Samantha, and Holly Redman,  James River Watch volunteers in the Lower James.

As a business member of 1% for the Planet, we made the James River Association one of our non-profit partners. Aside from donating money, we feel it is important to volunteer our time to the organizations we support as well.

Doing our part to keep the river clean and monitor its water quality is important for us since we use its resources all the time. The James River Watershed is where we kayak, swim, walk, bike, and fish. We moved to the area last year and are still amazed at the beauty as we explore more of the area.

One of our favorite experiences early this summer, while kayaking near Jamestown, we were lucky to pass two osprey nests. At one nest, we saw the parents flying back and forth feeding their babies. It was a great experience for us and we felt honored to be able to sit and watch.

- Mark, Samantha, and Holly Redman

JRA Volunteers