This week when asking a 4th grader what it means to be a friend, Ricky shared that a friend is someone you care about and want to help. That nailed what it is to be a Friend of the Fox River (FOTFR). We are friends by way of advocacy, cleanups, paddle trips and mostly, these spring … Read more
This year’s Giving Tuesday campaign was a big success for the Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR). “We Need a Van” was the theme. You may have seen the featured video, our Facebook fundraiser, and appeals through our website, emails, and Watershed Weekly resulted in over $7000 in support. For that, we are very grateful … Read more
When the Carpenter Dam removal was completed last year on November 1st, the leadership of Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) knew they wanted to celebrate the long (9 year) journey’s completion. A board/staff canoe trip was envisioned. Inclement weather postponed the trip, which gave creative minds time to raise the fun factor. EL CARDUNAL … Read more
April is Earth Month and Earth Day is officially on April 22nd.This is the 55th anniversary of Earth Day. The concept is to recognize human dependence upon earth systems and to honor our mother, Earth. In 1970, the developed world was just beginning to realize the impacts of our consumptive culture. Litter was considered a major … Read more
Founder of Friends of the Fox River, Pat Reese, emphasized that protecting the Fox River would take a watershed approach. This implies addressing issues as a region undivided by municipal boundaries. The annual Fox River Summit is a major step in that direction. The collaborative effort to develop the bi-state Fabulous Fox Water Trail (FFWT) … Read more
In the middle of the Friends of the Fox River’s (FOTFR) mission statement is “connecting people to nature.” Because FOTFR is in the business of building a watershed community of caretakers, the foundation of any Friends group is to develop those supporters/caretakers. Consequently, FOTFR invests in educational experiences to nurture connections between members of the … Read more
For thousands of years, humans have been able to live sustainably without technological aids. To do this required an intimate understanding of the local natural systems, probably much trial and error, and the passage of information from one generation to the next. Reverence and gratitude for the resources provided, the strong incentive to find food … Read more
The State of the Fox River 2025 is an annual presentation delivered in January to the public by Friends of the Fox River. It reflects the past year’s impactful activities, celebrates achievements, notifies of challenges, and guides actions to consider for the year ahead. For this article, it is presented as a list of significant … Read more
Join us at the next level of Being a Better Friend. Thank you again to all our Friends who offered generous financial support at the end of the year. That has given us some great momentum going into 2025. We intend to maintain all of our services and programming with plans to continue to grow. … Read more
The winter solstice marks a turning point from darker times into more light. For many, it is a time to reflect upon the past and move away from negative situations into a future of growth. This year on the solstice, I took a stroll at the Fox River location of the former Carpenter Dam which … Read more
