We love to celebrate our volunteers here at the San Antonio River Authority and the San Antonio River Foundation! This year we hosted our annual Volunteer Appreciation Mixer on September 17th at the Rosenberg Skyroom at the University of the Incarnate Word. Our River Warriors, committee members, board members, and partners of the River Authority and River Foundation enjoyed a night of food, fun, and celebration of their efforts.
Since October 2025, River Warrior volunteers have participated in over 30 cleanups, picking up 20,000 lbs. of litter from our waterways. They also contributed over 1,000 volunteer hours to litter pickups alone! From pickle jars to car parts and bowling balls, the River Warriors have a ton of stories to share about what they’ve found while picking up trash.
Combating Invasive Apple Snails on the Riverwalk
We also celebrated their efforts towards Apple Snail removal on the San Antonio Riverwalk. Our volunteers are responsible for up to 26% of the total removed Apple Snails and their egg cases. Even better, some of our River Warriors have individually picked up hundreds of adult Apple Snails and egg cases just this year. Check out our page on invasive species to see our Apple Snail dashboard.
We are so happy that so many volunteers came out to join in on the fun! If you are interested in joining any of our amazing volunteer opportunities, click here to become a River Warrior!
River Warriors Make Waves on the Coast
This September our River Warrior volunteers took a road trip down to the coast and participated in the San Antonio Bay Partnership’s Annual Shoreline Clean Up! Our volunteers maneuvered through the mangroves of Matagorda Bay to pick up trash along the coastline–and pick up trash, they did! Just 14 dedicated River Warriors picked up over 800 pounds of trash in just a few hours!
A big thank you to the San Antonio Bay Partnership for providing our volunteers with this amazing opportunity, and thank you to our wonderful River Warriors for braving the ocean (and a very early morning) to help make our world a cleaner place.
National Public Lands Day Brings Community Together at Alazán Creek
This year’s National Public Lands Day cleanup event was our biggest yet! The San Antonio River Authority came together with Thrive Youth Center and San Antonio Parks and Recreation to create a community resource fair and river cleanup along the West Side’s Alazán Creek. Over 150 volunteers and community members came together to learn about local resources, get free native plants, enjoy complimentary paletas, and help clean up our creeks.
Thank you to everyone who came out and dedicated their Saturday morning to cleaning Alazán Creek, and a special thank you to all the partnering organizations who made this event a sweeping success!
To all our River Warriors and community volunteers,
On behalf of the River Authority and River Foundation, we would like to acknowledge all the hard work, tireless support, and passion that our volunteer community has poured into our mission and vision of inspiring action for healthy creeks and rivers over the past year.
Join Us and Volunteer!
Feel inspired by the stories you heard today? Sign up to become a River Warrior volunteer! Email our engagement team at volunteer@sariverauthority.org or sign up through our volunteer portal. There you will find all our upcoming volunteer events, announcements, and opportunities. From litter pickups and invasive species management, to education and outreach, there’s something for everyone!
