Genesee RiverWatch and guests spent a wonderful evening celebrating our 50th anniversary with a gala on Friday, October 11, held at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY. Mike Haugh, President, and the entire Genesee RiverWatch Board of Directors would like to thank all who attended and our generous sponsors in helping to make the evening a success and setting the stage for the next 50 years of environmental stewardship in the Genesee-Finger Lakes region.

Special thanks go to Sarah Mangelsdorf, President of the University of Rochester, and her husband, Karl Rosengren, Professor of Brain & Cognitive Sciences at the University, who are generously serving as co-Honorary Chairpersons to commemorate this half-century milestone.  Sarah and Karl are supporting our anniversary fundraising effort with a generous matching gift of $10,000 that will double donations made through the end of this year.  In addition, they hosted 29 students and coaches from the university’s Yellowjackets Rowing Team who brought a wonderfully youthful energy to the event!

We are grateful that Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), agreed to be our keynote speaker. Ms. Harris, who earned a chemical engineering degree at the University of Rochester, also serves as co-chair of the New York State Climate Action Council.

Other distinguished speakers were Elizabeth Thorndike, co-founder of the Center for Environmental Information, or CEI – the forerunner organization to Genesee RiverWatch – and George Thomas, Executive Director of Genesee RiverWatch.

In a special moment, Ram Shrivastava was awarded the Elizabeth Thorndike Leadership Award for his long service on the Genesee RiverWatch board of directors.

Thanks also to the Maple Quartet for providing chamber music during the reception and to the Archive Ravens for enhancing our dinner with their acoustic jazz.

50 Years Ago

In 1974, when the green movement was new and reliable information on environmental topics was not widely available, Mrs. Thorndike and five other local women recognized the need for a regional environmental information clearinghouse and founded CEI. In the following decades, CEI served as a vital source of reference information and took an active role in convening stakeholder conferences and fostering collaboration on major issues such as acid rain, global climate change, and water quality in Lake Ontario and its tributaries, including the Genesee River. The group won numerous national and regional awards for its work.

Not long after completing those in-depth water quality studies, CEI leaders decided to shift the group’s focus to the Genesee River in 2014, launching Genesee RiverWatch. 

Over the 10 years since, Genesee RiverWatch has used grants and donations to perform $2.8 million in work to restore stream banks suffering from erosion along the Genesee and its tributaries, thus reducing runoff of pollutants and sediment, preserving valuable farmland, and improving habitat for fish and wildlife along the river.  RiverWatch also works with local entities to identify and support new and improved small-boat access points on the river. The group, which relies almost exclusively on volunteers, has engaged in countless educational efforts and worked to bring public attention to the river.

Genesee RiverWatch counts itself as the area’s oldest locally established environmental organization. In May, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans issued a proclamation honoring the organization for its half-century of service, saying its work was “critical to our well-being, quality of life and the future of our community.” Genesee RiverWatch was also recognized with commendations for its long years of environmental stewardship from Governor Kathy Hochul, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman Joseph Morelle and NYS Senator Samra Brouk.

Thank you to our 50th Anniversary Supporters!