Upcoming Events
Are you excited about ensuring a healthy and thriving river connected to its community?
Can you make our FREE upcoming community events?
There are so many ways to enjoy, appreciate, and spend time along the Truckee River. With One Truckee River's new event series, it's easier than ever to get out and about on the river, while getting to know your neighbors.
Over the next 6 months, we're hosting a series of volunteer days, river-education walks, and community workshops. Whether you live, work, or spend time along the Truckee River’s Urban Corridor – or simply want to lend a hand – we look forward to sharing our favorite waterway with you.
Keep reading for more information about our upcoming events & how you can:
1. Learn with your Neighbors on a Docent-Led Riverwalk
2. Volunteer with the Truckee River Urban Tree Workforce
3. Celebrate the Truckee River Alongside Your Neighbors
This event series is made possible with the support of the River Network and USDA Forest Service
Learn With Your Neighbors…On a Docent-Led Riverwalk
Native Plant Walk with Trash Panda Permaculture
Sunday, September 14th, 2025, 10:00am-12:00pm
Get to know our Northern Nevada native plants by joining One Truckee River and Trash Panda Permaculture for a stroll along the Truckee River on September 14th. Beginning at John Champion Memorial Park, local ecologist and homesteader Chris Mackessy will guide the group in finding and identifying native plants. Many of the native and naturalized plants along the Truckee River have significant cultural, medical, and edible uses. At this free event, we’ll learn how to respectfully and sustainably harvest and process a variety of plants, like Wood’s Rose, Coyote Willow, and more!
Chris Mackessy, our walk leader, is head teacher at Trash Panda Permaculture and the Field Trip Coordinator for the Nevada Native Plant Society. Building ecological knowledge through ethnobotany is their greatest passion, but they also work with elementary-aged learners, combining art, movement and ecology as a STEAM teacher. They seek to deepen the relationships of humans with the wild areas in which we live.
Bird & Wildlife Walks with Northern Nevada Bird Alliance
Saturday, October 25th 2025 and Saturday, January 10th 2026, 10:00am-12:00pm
What’s that duck that looks like it has spiky red hair? Who is that big bird perching stock-still on a rock with its wings spread out? What’s that tiny duck that just dove beneath the surface of the water? Explore Fisherman’s Park #1 at our upcoming events and see if you can spot mergansers, double-crested cormorants, buffleheads, red-tailed hawks, and more!
Get to know your community while learning about the birds and wildlife that call our neighborhood parks home – and why they matter. On October 25th and January 10th, One Truckee River and Northwest Nevada Bird Alliance members will lead us along the Truckee River, helping us spot and identify the birds and other animals that depend on our watershed.
The Northwest Nevada Bird Alliance (NNBA), formerly the Lahontan Audubon Society, is a nonprofit focused on educating the public about native Nevada birds and conserving the remaining bird habitat in northwestern Nevada. Their goal is to create a welcoming birding community where people of all backgrounds can feel a sense of belonging. Our October 25 walk will be led by Lauren Whitenack, who is the Vice President of the NNBA and a PhD student at UNR studying mountain chickadee breeding ecology. The walk on January 10 will be led by Jaida Marinas, who studied biology and analytical chemistry at UNR and works in environmental restoration and conservation.
Volunteer With the Truckee River Urban Trees Workforce
Tree Planting Days & Weekday Volunteer Opportunities
Tree Planting Saturdays: October 11, 2025, November 8th, 2025, and April 11th, 2026, from 10:00am-12:00pm
Weekday Volunteer Opportunities: Tuesdays from 10:00am-12:00pm
Join the Truckee River Urban Tree Workforce and support their restoration work by spending a morning planting native trees along the Truckee River! Enjoy getting your hands dirty while learning about trees like cottonwoods, willows, mountain mahogany, alder, black elderberry, Rocky Mountain Juniper, and Valley Oak. Your planting efforts will replace problematic invasive species like Tree of Heaven while creating healthy habitats for local wildlife and shade for our Northern Nevada community.
The Truckee River Urban Tree (TRUT Workforce Program combines restorative vegetation management – the targeted removal of unwanted and invasive vegetation combined with the management, planting and upkeep of native vegetation – with education, on-the-job training, and certification opportunities for community members who have barriers to employment. TRUT is increasing Reno’s tree canopy and improving the health of the riparian corridor along the Truckee River benefiting fish and birds, improving outdoor recreation for residents which is increasing the quality of life for Northern Nevada families.
The program began in 2024 as a collaboration between OTR, the City of Reno and Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality, with support from Nevada Division of Forestry and River Network.
Call or text 775-450-5489 to volunteer for weekday dates.
Celebrate the Truckee River Alongside Your Neighbors
Winter on the River Open Mic
December 6th, 11:00am-2:00pm
Join One Truckee River for a festive afternoon listening to poetry and music – with the opportunity to join in and share your own creativity. Sip some hot chocolate, sit back, and enjoy as community members express their love for our home, with the sounds and sights of the Truckee River in the background.
Information about how you can participate: coming soon!
Spring River Advocacy Day
February 21st
Gather together with local river and community organizations or learn more about the Truckee River, its history, and how we can best protect it.
Details coming soon.