Celebrating the 2014 River of the Year

SRDC was thrilled to work with the Schuylkill River Greenway Association (SRGA) on special programming to celebrate the Schuylkill River being named River of the Year for 2014 by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the PA Organization of Watersheds and Rivers. In addition to SRDC and SRGA's regular programming, fans of the Schuylkill were treated to a special bike ride and lecture series.

Pedaling through our National Parks highlighted several historic sites along our Revolutionary River. Participants met on September 20 to ride from the Hopewell Furnace Historic Site, to the SRGA Headquarters, through Valley Forge National Historic Park, down the Schuylkill River Trail to Schuylkill Banks for a lunchtime talk about the Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail, and across town to Independence Historic Park.

The River of the Year lecture series ended with two keynote presentations by Beth Kephart, author of several books including "Flow: The Life and Times of Philadelphia's Schuylkill River." During the October 16 presentation at the Trinity Urban Life Center in Philadelphia, Kephart captivated the audience with a special presentation of "RIVER DREAMS: History, Hope, and the Imagination," which she developed specifically for the River of the Year celebration. Kephart spoke about the special place that the Schuylkill holds in her life and how the river has inspired her writing and teaching over the years before answering questions from the audience.