Stewardship

Volunteer Stewardship

Cahaba River Society's Stewardship Program leads volunteers to restore native habitat and clean up the Cahaba River.

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We believe that connecting people to the Cahaba through hands-on experiences is the best way to inspire care for the River.

We organize hands-on volunteer service projects including river clean ups, forest restoration projects, and outdoor classroom planning for civic, business, school, and church groups so that they can clean up the River and restore forests.

Who we work with:

We partner with individuals, businesses, civic groups, schools, scout troops, and church groups to empower them to clean up the River and restore forests.

Join the CRS Conservation Crew!

Sign up for emails to be the first to hear about upcoming volunteer opportunities.

Plan a Project for your crew!

Contact Field Program Director Wil Rainer to discuss planning a project for your civic, business, school, scout, church, or other group.

Stewardship Photo Gallery

Upcoming Stewardship Events

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Guided Canoe Trip: Oxbow Lake Tour in Perry County

For this trip, we will be paddling between a series of oxbow lakes and will need to portage (walk between the lakes) at points during the day. These portages are ...

Barton's Beach at Perry Lakes Park on the Cahaba River. Photo by Beth Stewart.

Guided Canoe Trip: Southern Cahaba Watershed Canoe Tour – Location TBD

We will take a trip (Location TBD at a later date) into the beautiful southern half of the Cahaba River watershed. Below Centreville, the Cahaba River is much wider and ...

Lead Program Staff:

Wil Rainer
Field Programs Director
Wil Rainer is Cahaba River Society’s Field Programs Director, leading, planning, and implementing river restoration projects for our Stewardship (river restoration) Program and leading river paddling trips for our Recreation and CLEAN Environmental Education Program.Wil joined the Cahaba River Society in April 2021 as part of the Stewardship Intern Team. Over the course of his internship, he worked closely with Education Director Gordon Black, and Environmental Science Educator La’Tanya Scott, on the Shane Hulsey CLEAN Environmental Education Program as well as on the Cahaba River invasive plant management program eradicating taro among the lilies.Wil is a strong paddler and river guide, continuing CRS’ tradition of trained leadership to ensure safe, enjoyable experiences on the Cahaba. Growing up in Memphis, Wil spent time paddling along the Wolf River; his favorite section is the beautiful, cypress-clad Ghost River.He attended Sewanee: The University of the South from which he holds a Bachelor’s in Natural Resources. Wil moved to Birmingham in 2017 and worked in land sales at Resource Management Services, LLC before moving to Wilmington, NC where he continued with RMS as a forester. After moving to Edwards, CO and working at Beaver Creek Ski Resort, Wil began work with the Bureau of Land Management on a botany crew characterizing plant and soil communities across 1.3 million acres of public land. After returning to Birmingham in 2020, Wil turned his eye towards the river systems with Osprey Initiative, LLC. He helped manage the Litter Gitter devices in the Cahaba River, the Black Warrior River and the many tributaries of each. With Osprey, Wil helped remove and recycle thousands of pounds of trash from waterways in Birmingham, Decatur and Atlanta.

Stewardship Committee