Hudson River Sloop Clearwater

"[I]n a place like New York City or any city really there is a benefit to having green space. Apart from having a place to exercise being able to move and engage with different green spaces has a benefit to mental health. Parks are a space where events are held, where people can commune, really contributing to the social hub of a place. Quality of a green space, not just having a space present, is also a big environmental justice issue. What does it mean to have a park that i...s really large but some of the places aren't physically safe for kids to go out and play. Some of the parks may be closer to a highway, exposing park goers to higher emissions. Access is great, but condition and quality really makes a difference. New York has a lot on inequities in the built in environment, and that includes the way green space have been built and created. We can think about, Robert Moses and the history of communities of color being removed to preserve the benefit of green spaces for some groups more than others. All of these issues compound when we add a pandemic on top of problems that have existed for many many years. What we deal with a lot is the general meaning of what it means to be policed in a place, in a green space, that means you're being hassled or harassed for not wearing a mask, when they are being handed out to others in a different area. We have a COVID Resource Guide, which has a lot of information about hours for green spaces and where to access certain things, as numbers to call for other resources people in our community need. We take ownership in our work, and really try to put our community members first...we want our work to remain community centered...they are the crux of what we mean when we say justice." - Taylor Morton (@_taymo_) is the Environmental Health and Education Manager at WEACT for Environmental Justice (@weact4ej), an organization based in Harlem committed to building healthy communities by ensuring people of color and low income residents have the ability to participate in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies. Thank you Taylor for sitting with us for TWO zoom interviews, presenting at our annual conference, and continuing to engage with us on how we can support your critical work! To become a member and support the ongoing #OurRiverConnectsUs project, visit us at bit.ly/sloop-orcu. #HudsonRiver #HudsonRiverValley #hudsonvalley #hudsonvalleyny #Hudsonriversloopclearwater #sloopclearwater #newyorkcity #newyork #weact4ej #Harlem #harlemriver #eastriver #environmentaljustice #greenspace #environmentaleducation #advocacy #communityorganizing #communityfocused #environmentalpolicy #thingstodointhehudsonvalley #sailingships #sailtraining

"I'm originally from California around boats all the time, sailed with my family as a kid, and was the master of a little dingy in the Santa Cruz Marina, and that developed my love of rowing. When I went to college, I rowed on crew, and then when I moved to New York I wanted to continue rowing. But this harbor is not a good place for racing shells, if you want to row crew you have to go way north to City Island or the Harlem River. [Then] I met this guy, Mike Davis, who had a... group called Floating the Apple. And he was building wooden, open boats, which he called white-hull gigs for use in New York Harbor. The first time I saw one of those boats, I understood immediately it was the right boat for this harbor. It was long and skinny, so it was going to be fast, but it was wide enough to be stable in the waves and the chop. You could see it was going to be fast and get out of the way of other boats...I started volunteering with him and eventually understood the boat building process enough to be the lead on some of the boat building projects. And Mike's messaging was really about access...at it's root restoring access to the waterways to the public. Floating the Apple is no longer around but the follow on organization, Village Community Boathouse, has and will in the future continue to offer free public rowing. You come down, you sign a waiver and you go out with whoever else is there with you, so your neighbor or a tourist from Europe, and a coxswain who knows how to navigate the river. Water is a public space." -Rob Buchanan is a part of the education team at Billion Oyster Project, maintaining a network of oyster cages all over the harbor and working with students at the Harbor School in after school clubs dedicated to boat building and advocacy in the estuary. Rob is a wealth of tremendous information about the history of rowing on the river and how we can access rowing as members of the public as a Voice of the Valley. To become a member and support the ongoing #OurRiverConnectsUs project, visit us at bit.ly/sloop-orcu.

"In our theater work we've always combined history, art, and science...now we're expanding our mediums to be able to use this site. It's a powerful place, where water from the Catskills comes over the dam and meets tidewater in the estuary, which is of course connected to the whole watery planet we live on. In the mid-1800's this area was filled with steam boats and there were three paper mills right on the Esopus, which has always been the doorway to Saugerties. We're intere...sted in taking the remnants of these places so that the future generations can fashion a civilization that is more sustainable." -Patrick Wadden is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Arm of the Sea Theater. They are in the process of redeveloping the site of a former paper mill, transforming it into a totally sustainable Tidewater Center, a place for arts, science, and local heritage. He is a treasured voice of the valley looking to make positive change in our Hudson River Estuary Community. The Arm of the Sea Tidewater Center will have artist studios, a floating classroom, an aquatic science lab, and a waterworks playground to educate the community on how water shapes the land. To learn more about them go to Arm-of-the-Sea Theater To become a member and support the ongoing #OurRiverConnectsUs project, visit us at bit.ly/sloop-orcu.

"Living in a lighthouse is a lot like living on a sloop." The Saugerties Lighthouse is a 150 year old landmark historic site on the Hudson. Anna and Patrick sat down with us for a socially distant interview this summer to discuss the Lighthouse still being used for navigation on the river, the house's history, current use as a Bed & Breakfast, and the importance of historic places on the river being protected. To learn more about the Saugerties Lighthouse find them Saugerties Lighthouse To become a member and support the ongoing #OurRiverConnectsUs project, visit us at bit.ly/sloop-orcu.

"[We need to] reestablish connections that are lost in our world and in our cities, connections to water to soil to air...all of the elements..and we play a role in helping or hurting it. I think there's so much opportunity to show how ecology and industry can work together, so we try to identify where the intersections lie. I spend a lot of time with school groups and the public, because if you don't know where you come from you don't know where you're going. The story of wh...at happened to Newtown Creek is the story of what happens in the world. We want to know how do we transition our community into something that is healthy and accessible and equitable." Lisa Bloodgood is the Director of Advocacy and Education at the Newtown Creek Alliance, she sat down with us for a socially distant interview to lend her voice of the valley to the Our River Connects Us campaign. Our tributaries are just as important to protect as the the main vein of the Hudson. Support their critical work. To become a member and support the ongoing #OurRiverConnectsUs project, visit us at bit.ly/sloop-orcu.

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater board and staff are deeply saddened by the untimely passing of our dear friend and mentor, Cecil Corbin-Mark, Deputy Director and Director of Policy Initiatives for WEACT, Cecil was a brave and brilliant leader of the Environmental Justice movement, whose contribution was immense. We extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. Cecil will be missed by all those he impacted through his commitment to justice, but his legacy will continue to inspire hope and action well into the future.

PUMPKIN SAIL As The Clearwater Pumpkin Sail evolved. Sailors Boats and support crews would assemble up at Renssallaer Dock and take delivery of a couple of tons... of pumpkins. They would raise the boom jaws above the table of the mainsail and build a cage on deck to hold the pumpkins. THE Pumpkin were loaded from shore by anyone who was around in a giant pumpkin pass. The Tour would begin The normal rotation of volunteer crew would be suspended and the main crew would be supplemented by musicians. There would be three shifts of musicians for the three legs of the tour down the Hudson River from Albany to New York Harbor. In addition, as time went on, the Sloop Clearwater would be joined by other boats to eventually become a mini flotilla. It would become to resemble a floating circus. There might be a parade down the main street to the harbor complete with giant puppets. The Arm Of the Sea Theater sprang from this. At one time They had a giant Sturgeon named Ezmarelda that would swim down the street in the parade, I think the head may still be in Pete’s barn. Storytelling, music, education and Enviornmental action stations would be set up. A Stone Soup Pot would be assembled. A fire would be built to cook the soup. Folks from the community would come down and donate vegetables to put in the pot . which would be take in to be used for the next town. The village that we left the day before would provide the stock for that days Stone Soup which was cooked on the spot.The cooks would tell the Stone Soup Story. At the end of the day, there might be a concert at a local venue. The crew would fold everything up and sail on the tide to the next town for the next day. This process would repeat over and over again for 17 days or around Halloween. The backdrop would be the fall foliage of the magnificent Hudson Valley. This required massive shore support and volunteers. Due to that and changing times, the Pumpkin Sail slowly became shorter and shorter with less people participating. In its heyday, it was an incredible experience. Many people who were elsewise employed, (like me) would take one or two weeks of vacation time to take part. I would choose what legs of the trip or parts therein that i would volunteer. If one did the whole trip to would take the better part of a month. A lot of time three would be snow on the deck in November as we headed back to our home ports. As in The other posts, many photographers, besides Mel and I contributed to this. Among them are Econosmith, Faith Ward, Andy Wallace, Brian Whalen, Mike Mann, Stan Dickstein,Dan Mozell, Mitch Carrucci, The photo collection of Toshi Seeger, Emilio Rodriguez, Gerte Battaile, Clearwater, Brian Mohan, Jeff Partridge, Alan Thomas, Donna MacWilliams, Lynn Hottes, and if I am forgetting anyone, please remind me. After 2000, the sail was reduced to fall foliage, or wine and cheese affairs with fewer stops. The Beacon Sloop Club however kept up the tradition and still has aPumpkin Festival in close to the same format as in days gone by. The last Pumpkin Festival that Pete Seeger participated in was in 2013. a couple of months before he passed. He did not play but instead he got on the mound stage and led the crowd in the reading of The Gettysburg Address. He has said that if you can’t say what idea you are trying to impart in three minutes, you haven’t thought about it enough.. See more

Our partner organizations are a huge piece of what brings us together. As we continue to grow, we are able to connect with each other on our mission to conserve the Hudson. A huge thank you to all our partners who share our mission. We would also like to thank everyone who has helped us amplify the diverse voices that truly help connect the Hudson Valley. #OurRiverConnectsUs To help us continue our work, visit us at bit.ly/donate-orcu.