This year’s conference will feature the first ever Alabama (Clean) Water Rally, a four-day event geared toward informing citizens about key water issues affecting the state and ways that citizens can become involved in protecting their waters, according to a press release.

With environmental issues playing such a key role on the national stage, concerned citizens from all backgrounds have much to gain from attending this rally, according to Elizabeth Salter, who attended the annual event five years ago as a concerned citizen, and now is the conference organizer.

“I’d always been a lover of nature and the environment, and I wanted to know what I could do to get involved in protecting it,” Salter said. “I first heard about the conference in 2004 and decided to go see what it was about. Five years later, I am now a staff member with the Alabama Rivers Alliance and I’m in charge of organizing the conference for other people who want to learn about Alabama’s environment.”

Each year the conference brings over a hundred individual attendees from a variety of backgrounds together to share, network, and learn. Participants include agency employees, teachers, elected officials, scientists, lawyers, engineers, and concerned citizens.

At the conference, participants receive professional development training from experts as well as their own peers on the newest ideas and innovations in science, community organizing, and environmental policy work.

This four-day event will combine two days of traditional conference sessions with an additional two days of visits to our elected officials, field trips, a screening of the movie FLOW (For the Love of Water) in the historic Capri Theater, and tours of the offices of state agencies in charge of managing and protecting Alabama’s waters.

The conference will also feature a variety of field trip options, such as a paddle down the Alabama Scenic River Trail, a private tour of Alabama Wildlife Federation’s Lanark Property, a self-guided walking tour of Alabama’s Civil Rights History, and the opportunity to observe the effects of pollution in some areas as well as take in the beauty of Alabama’s natural scenery from above with the pilots of South Wings.

The primary goal of Alabama Water Rally is to encourage citizen participation in government and bring water issues to the forefront of this important election year.

Registration information and more is available at AlabamaRivers.org.

The Alabama Rivers Alliance is Alabama’s statewide, nonprofit river protection organization with the purpose is to protect and restore Alabama’s rivers. The group advocates smart water policy, organize at the grassroots level, and teach citizens how they can protect their water. It is privately funded and financial supported by concerned citizens. The goal is to achieve healthy rivers, healthy people, and a healthy system of government for the state of Alabama.