It's a club. It's a group of individuals who share values, experiences and a vision.

Members of the Conestoga River Club (CRC) believe that if they take care of the river, the Conestoga River will take care of them.

"Why does the river matter? Because it brings us together," said Todd Roy, the program director and founder of the CRC. "If we don't take care of this planet we live on, we lose our right to do that. We have to work with our neighbors because it's a great, big job. Why does the river matter? Because we matter."

CRC is an environmental club, it's a recreational club, it's a community club. The club is dedicated to taking care of, advocating for, conserving and educating about the 60-mile Conestoga River, Lancaster County's river.

CRC doesn't maintain a brick-and-mortar headquarters or clubhouse; it performs its service work in and around the water. But the club does conduct quarterly volunteer meetings at Rhoads Energy Corporation, 205 Hazel St., Lancaster, including an upcoming one from 8 a.m. to noon on Thursday, April 2.

"We're very much a grassroots organization," said Roy. "We teach what we know. We teach how to kayak safely. We teach how to leave the Earth a better place than we found it. What we do is different. Instead of talking about it, we figure it out and do it."

An active organization, CRC engages in a number of activities throughout the year, including educational kayak excursions, celebrations of Water Week and Earth Day, outreach programs, awarding of scholarships, safety training, overnight camping trips, fun floats and fundraisers. But one of the club's main focuses is both large-scale cleaning and the maintenance of the Conestoga River, activities that have netted more 67 tons of trash; more than 7,000 tires; and even the odd dumpster, picnic table and trailer.

"Life looks different from the water - not just the world, all of life," said Roy, a resident of East Petersburg. "When you're on the water, you care a lot more about what's in it. If we can heal the water, we can heal the world."

Through its outreach efforts, CRC reaches an audience of more than 2,000 like-minded individuals - mainly residents from all parts of Lancaster County - 300 of whom are members and 40 of whom are actively involved volunteers. CRC's mission is supported by many prominent business partners and organizations, including the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Lancaster County Conservation District and Lancaster Conservancy.

"They are people who like what we're doing," said Roy. "There is so much energy around the Conestoga River Club. You don't do this stuff for fun. You do it for intentionality. When you build that kind of rapport with people, it starts to mean something."

The Conestoga River forms near Morgantown and intersects the width of Lancaster County from northeast to southwest before depositing its waters into the Susquehanna River at Safe Harbor. While only 32.5 miles of the Conestoga are navigable, the river runs through 14 Lancaster County townships and municipalities, including West Earl Township, Upper Leacock Township, East Lampeter Township and Ephrata Township.

The Conestoga River can be accessed through 14 launch facilities - offering various levels of amenities - including one at Sylvan B. Fisher Park in West Earl Township.

"It is our river. It is Lancaster County's river," said Roy. "The history of the Conestoga River is the history of Lancaster County. There's a lot to learn on the Conestoga, like stream health. We teach how to live better in your own backyard."

CRC's work is funded through government and foundation grants, but the organization also financially benefits from fundraisers and the staging of paid events.

Roy founded CRC in June of 2020.

"Our goal is to be on the Conestoga every day of the summer," said Roy. "We work with the county parks and recreation department. We also work with volunteer fire companies. We're doing more now than ever before."

"Five years ago, no one was doing anything, and now we are," he continued. "Now we have a plan, and we have people who have bought in. It is in its infancy, and it's growing fast. We're doing what I like to think of as responsive maintenance or proactive care of the river."

For additional information, go to https://conestogariverclub.org.