The Nature Consersvancy is one of the beneficiaries of the Green is Gold Charity Match. Get to know TNC's mission and work with Oregon's water in a Q&A with Sustainable Water Program Director Zach Freed.
The Green is Gold Charity Match is Wednesday, featuring mixed teams of Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns FC players, at Providence Park; kickoff is 7 p.m. (Pacific).
Admission to the charity match is free with suggested donations to benefit environmental organizatons The Nature Conservancy and Keep Oregon Green.
For more than 60 years, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has brought people together to protect and restore the lands, waters and natural resources that define our state and sustain our communities.
Community partners, TNC and the Timbers are working together to educate, activate and raise awareness around nature conservation, addressing climate change, and biodiversity loss, as well as encourage communities statewide to actively explore, experience and protect the outdoors.
We chatted with Zach Freed, the Sustainable Water Program Director at TNC, about the organization's mission, the work he does across Oregon and how events like this charity match help further TNC’s mission.
The Nature Conservancy’s mission is focused on conserving nature. Could you please explain a little bit about your role in helping the organization achieve its mission, and your passion for what you do. What brought you to this work?
I lead The Nature Conservancy's Sustainable Water team. We use science, technology, and community collaboration to secure cool, clean water for people and nature. Oregon is known for its beautiful rivers and lakes, but as the climate changes, water scarcity and drought are becoming increasingly common. I grew up paddling, swimming, and fishing on rivers, and my family relied on a domestic well for our water supply. So, from a young age, I've been fascinated by the role water plays in our culture, our ecosystems, and our public health. When the opportunity came to work at The Nature Conservancy as a hydrologist, I jumped at the chance—I knew this organization had the right tools and expertise to make meaningful progress towards a more sustainable water future.
With all the changes to both the global and local environment, what are some new elements you and TNC are confronting? What has you excited about TNC’s work or hopeful?
Oregon will look a little different in a changing climate, as we experience hotter, drier summers alongside wetter winters with more flood risk. One challenge is that many of Oregon's water management laws were made without anticipating any future changes, which leads to increasingly outdated policies. However, the more I work with communities, the more hope I have that people from all backgrounds can work together towards a shared goal of drought resilience and climate adaptation.
The Timbers’ new “Nature Unites” kit proudly includes TNC's name on it. How do partnerships and the Green is Gold Charity Match help raise awareness and bring more and more people into understanding each of our connections to nature and the importance of conservation?
Water is one of Oregon's defining features, and it's important for everyone. But not everyone knows about the drought and water scarcity issues that Oregon needs to address, and they are getting more pressing each year. Any opportunity to connect Oregonians with the rivers, lakes, and aquifers they rely on is important. Climate change will affect all of us, and the key habitats we rely on. Raising awareness is necessary to catalyze the change we need to adapt to a changing future.
