Skip Navigation

Express Support for Healthy Rivers Through Art

Story By:
| Communications Director

Keene State College Sponsors Event That Provides Opportunity for Public to Influence Management of Connecticut River

Keene State College will be hosting and sponsoring an event that will provide the public with an opportunity to influence how the Connecticut River and its tributaries, including the Ashuelot River, will be managed, restored and improved for us, and the wildlife that call it home. The Connecticut River Watershed Council is working with River of Words and Harrisville-based Art for Water to gather personal narratives about New England’s longest river through the Stream of Conscience art project. They will engage the public in a dialogue about their relationship to the Connecticut River and what the river means to them, their communities, and their families. The Ashuelot River is a significant tributary on the larger Connecticut River.

When: Monday, October 5, 2015 at 7 p.m.

Where: Centennial Hall in the Alumni Center at Keene State College

What: Participants have the opportunity to contribute to The Stream of Conscience, a community-created art installation, which serves as a conduit for providing input to the State and Federal government as they make decisions about how dams within the Connecticut River Watershed will operate over the next 30 to 40 years. The art project, made of torn pieces of paper on which participants write their aspirations, thoughts, and feelings about their river, is a unique method of capturing public input regarding future river management decisions. These will be used to build a site-specific art installation of a river. Those who attend and contribute their voices through the Stream of Conscience art project will join hundreds of others to shape future state and federal decisions regarding the operations and management of New England’s largest river. The event is free and open to the public.

“Operation of dams impacts numerous other activities in the Connecticut Watershed. We are sponsoring this event to demonstrate our college’s collective commitment to public involvement in management decisions, which impact resources vital to our community,” said Keene State College Professor of Geography, Dr. Jo Beth Mullens.

“Our rivers and streams belong to all of us. With the pending relicensing of five hydropower facilities on the main stem Connecticut now underway, the public has a tremendous opportunity to create the future of their river with their thoughts and aspirations. As owners of our river how these facilities are operated is up to us. Our river is a source of energy, of life, of recreation, and of solace, but how do we make that balance happen? You tell us!” said Connecticut Watershed Council Executive Director, Andrew Fisk.

This program is generously supported by the Putnam Foundation, and sponsored by Keene State College’s Geography and Environmental Studies Departments.

Related Stories

Contact Keene State College

1-800-KSC-1909
229 Main Street
Keene, New Hampshire 03435