Annual Reports

2006 Nine Mile Run Watershed Association Annual Report (1.5mb pdf)

2004 Nine Mile Run Watershed Association Annual Report (8mb pdf)

2003 Nine Mile Run Watershed Association Annual Report (3mb pdf)

Dear friend of the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association,

Thank you for helping make another wonderful year of work in the Nine Mile Run Watershed possible!

Whenever we talk about the mission of the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association we like to emphasize our focus on people. After all, our mission is "to involve citizens in the restoration and protection of the Nine Mile Run Watershed through education, advocacy, and stewardship programs." That means we don’t just want the watershed to be healthy, we want citizens to be directly involved in making the kind of positive change our watershed needs. As we continue our work, we are constantly reminded how valuable these experiences are for the natural world and for the people themselves.

Last summer, when then-intern Hallie Pritts was waiting for neighbors to join her at the Ella Street Friendship Garden in Wilkinsburg, she saw one of our students from the spring Framing Your Environment workshop. Recognizing her, he said: "You’re the woman from the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association." Hallie just about fell over. He didn’t just remember her, he remembered the name of our organization—in full. Something in our 6-week workshop with him stuck.

As Hallie began working, two brothers who had been riding their bicycles back and forth stopped and asked her what she was doing. She replied that she was making a garden here. "We want to help you,”the older boy said. “One person can’t do very much, you need more people to help you." And they began to help her deadhead goutweed, an invasive plant.

This fall, we held a MERGE forum to talk about how to engage more people, particularly people from underserved communities, in environmental work. A long-time watershed resident was there and towards the end of the evening she made a comment that summed up the purpose for all of our being there. She said, "I’ve been interested in doing these kinds of things for years. And I could never find all of you, but now that I found one of you I found all of you." The very next week she began organizing a fair in her neighborhood and inviting environmental non-profits to come and share their work. The Great Wilkinsburg Clean & Green Fair was born and will be held on June 4th of this year. It is not something that NMRWA initiated, it’s just something that we’ll participate in. Which is just how we want it.

We are here to give support to the people who really make things happen. The kids who pick up trash, the neighbors who plant trees, the resident who not only gets a rain barrel, but encourages her neighbors to do the same.

Thank you for giving support to us and for being one of the people who help.

Hope to see you around the watershed soon,

Kathryn McGregor
President, Board of Directors
Marijke Hecht
Executive Director