Spokane River Forum receives REI grant to clean up Mirabeau

The Spokane River Forum recently accepted a $10,000 grant from REI to continue its efforts at educating the community about the value of the river. The grant from REI, the forum’s partner in Spokane River restoration and stewardship, will help fund two initiatives: improving river access, signage and riparian habitat at Mirabeau Point, a popular put-in and take-out for boaters; and incorporating social media tools like Facebook, into existing programs to more effectively spread the word about river access, safety, restoration projects and floating opportunities. “What we try and do through these grants is not only give money to an organization, but to offer REI’s resources, contacts, and customers as well,” says Carol Christensen, local outreach specialist for REI’s Spokane location. “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel, we just want to come on board with these groups and lend them the help that we can.” The grant was presented near the bank for the river at Mirabeau Point, and a variety of local dignitaries were present. Every year, REI gives 3 percent of its previous year’s operating profit to organizations that employees have identified as important players in local conservation activities. In 2010, the company gave $3.7 million in grants to more than 330 groups across the country. The Spokane River Forum is one of three Spokane-area groups to receive an REI grant at this time. The other two groups have not yet revealed their awards. Christensen said the Spokane River Forum caught REI’s attention because the forum’s mission – to restore and sustain a healthy river system – is so closely aligned with REI’s values. “We looked at the Forum’s projects and saw that they are putting tools in the hands of our community to be able to access the river and to recreate on the river in a responsible way,” said Christensen. “This is good for our local environment, and for business.” The support from REI will help the Forum achieve its goal to restore and improve Mirabeau Point, a popular river-access point within the Riverside State Park system. The Forum’s plan is to extend the current fence line to encourage use of the official river path, as opposed to makeshift paths down the steep bank, to weed and re-seed the banks with native bunch grass, to re-grade the access route, and to install signs that mark trails and educate users about river stewardship. “It’s a terrific restoration project that demonstrates good stewardship, partnering amongst groups, and development of the Spokane River Water Trail,” said Andy Dunau, the forum’s executive director. “Everybody’s really excited.” Dunau invites everyone to come out and help clean up the hillside and install fencing on October 1 and 29, alongside volunteers from the Veterans Conservation Corps. In the spring, the Forum will ask volunteers to help hydro-seed and finish up the restoration. “By this time next year, the area is going to look beautiful,” he said. In addition to the physical restoration project at Mirabeau, the forum plans to use grant funds to integrate social media into its messaging toolbox. The hope is that a new Spokane River Water Trail web site and a Facebook account will enable the forum to more effectively communicate up-to-date information about river access, safety, and responsible usage.