My experiences along the Luangwa River

Lili Badri ·
19 July 2024

It was around 6 am on a cool May morning as we waited outside for our driver. We were a mere few feet away from a young male lion the previous night and still in disbelief. When our driver arrived, we loaded into the vehicle and made the bumpy ride towards South Luangwa National Park to admire Zambia’s wildlife and marvelous landscapes.

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Reflections on a serious game in Zambia

Heath Kelsey ·
22 May 2024

One of the highlights of our recent Basin Health Report Card workshops in Katete and Mpika, Zambia, which we undertook with our partners at Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the Zambia Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA), was the game we play with everyone, called “Get the Grade.” It’s one of the highlights of almost all of our stakeholder engagement meetings these days. Participants enjoying Get the Grade at the Mpika workshop.

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UMCES reception at the Coastal Estuarine Research Federation conference

Bill Dennison ·
17 November 2023

We held a reception for current and former UMCES faculty, staff and students at the biennial Coastal and Estuarine Federation (CERF 2023) conference in Portland, OR. In addition, UMCES sponsored a booth in the coffee break and poster session area. The evening event on November 13th was a chance to gather UMCES folks together, as the meeting had ten concurrent sessions and you could miss seeing each other as you raced from session to session. I made the following introductory remarks at the gathering.

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Photo taken at an International RiverSymposium with (L-R) Bill Dennison, Alistair Driver (2010 RiverPrize winner; Thames River), the late Johnny Sundstrom (2004 RiverPrize winner; Siuslaw River), Amos Brandeis (2003 RiverPrize winner; Alexander River).

Israelis working with Palestinians for ecosystem restoration

Bill Dennison ·
20 October 2023

As we continue to watch the horrible news from the Middle East, I have been reflecting on my experiences with environmental restoration efforts that have served to unite, rather than divide people in the region. There is a story that I want to share that may provide some hope in this bleakest of times. When I was based in Australia, we created the International RiverFoundation to champion integrated river basin management of the world’s rivers.

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