Social Impacts
Bickford Collaboration values:
-- providing and protecting clean water (now and for the future),
-- improving science communication and education, and
-- involving young people in protecting water and wilderness.
We also value you as a person. Effective collaboration depends on taking care of yourself and your relationships. Therefore, we also offer courses and events related to things like getting enough rest, listening, and life transitions. For those, see upcoming events on our learning website, Improve Your Meetings.
Why I care about water
Most people enjoy being in and around water. Many of us have had access to clean drinking water and to wild rivers and lakes all our lives.
But not everyone does.
The dramatic stories of water pollution in the early 1970s woke me up. This blog post describes the day I decided to do something about water quality, which led me to become a hydrogeologist.
For many years, I was a public servant at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), where I worked to prevent impacts to groundwater from landfills. Later, as Wisconsin's medical waste coordinator, I focused on plastic, highly pathogenic healthcare wastes, mercury and pharmaceuticals that also end up in water.
While at WDNR, I came to realize that how we worked together significantly impacted how well and how fast we could
prevent water contamination and improve public health.
This is why I now focus on helping professionals in science, healthcare and public health to improve their meetings and working relationships. And I support other organizations that do the same.
-- Barb Bickford
How I care about water
Besides consulting with organizations and supporting individual leaders,
I donate time or money to the groups listed below.
These groups improve water quality, involve young people in protecting water and/or provide clean water to people who don't have access to it.
Friends of Lily Lake
Lily Lake is a small urban lake in Stillwater, Minnesota. The Friends of Lily Lake exist to improve and protect the lake’s water quality, to enhance the wildlife habitat near the lake and to help people enjoy nature. Thanks to the efforts of this group and others, Lily Lake was removed from the Minnesota list of impaired waters in 2023.
I serve as the secretary of the Friends' Board of Directors. In 2021-22, I helped the Friends develop a new mission statement and run a community engagement process to identify next steps, many of which have since been implemented. You can read about it in my blog and on the FLL website.
Green Business Directory
This organization evaluates and promotes businesses in are near Stillwater Minnesota that have met rigorous standards for being green businesses.. Learn more about the Stillwater area Green Business Directory.
I joined the Green Business Directory in 2021 and have helped organize its networking events. Read my Green Business scorecard.
Wild Rivers Conservancy
Wild Rivers Conservancy is the official nonprofit partner of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. It exists to inspire stewardship to forever ensure the rare ecological integrity of the St.Croix and Namekagon Riverway.
I lead pro-bono workshops to help Conservancy staff improve their meetings and larger events. If you would like, you may support WRC's summer internship program.
Freshwater
Freshwater is a nonprofit that inspires and empowers Minnesotans to value and preserve water. It uses science to engage communities to equitably improve water today and for future generations.
As one of Freshwater's Minnesota Water Stewards, I volunteer on water-related projects. For example, in 2023, my husband and I nurtured over 50 tree seedlings in a gravel bed and gave them away to be planted in the Lily Lake watershed.
American Institute of Professional Geologists
The American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) is the largest association dedicated to promoting geology as a profession. In addition to serving practicing geologists, it provides scholarships and learning opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students and fun programs for K-12 students. Donate to AIPG's scholarship funds.
I have led webinars for AIPG members wanting to improve engagement in their meetings, and I'm a member of the AIPG Early Career Professionals committee.
Matt Gear BWCA fund
The Matt Gear Boundary Waters Canoe Area fund enables youth living in or near Madison, Wisconsin, to experience wilderness by making canoe trips affordable to them.
I co-founded this fund after my son, Matt Gear (the tall boy in the center of the photo), died in a car accident in 2003. Boundary Waters canoe trips had helped Matt appreciate clean water and teamwork.
The fund is now administered by the the Madison Christian Community, a progressive church that sponsors youth canoe trips; therefore, your donations can be tax-deductible. Please contact me if you'd like to donate to this fund or know of a young person who would benefit from going on such a trip.
Haiti Allies
Haiti Allies helps empower Haitians through education, meal programs, adult literacy, and job creation. Among other things, this group operates a school in City Soliel, an impoverished shanty town on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. A gift of $50 can provide clean water for the students of the school for a week. Donate here. put a note in the comment field that your gift is for the water fund and please mention Bickford Collaboration. Let's see how many weeks we collectively can sponsor this year!
Water for Good
Water for Good serves vulnerable people living in extreme poverty by providing access to reliable water, sanitation, and hygiene. When combined, these practices can nearly eliminate waterborne diseases and water-related deaths. Find out how you can get involved.