CHARLES  RIVER  PARKLANDS  UPDATE
September 2002
Archives—Table of Contents

A Morning on the River

It is a sunlit Wednesday morning and two middle school students are walking the bridge across the lagoon in the Esplanade, counting each footstep as they go. Several yards downstream by the monument to Charles Eliot and the MDC park system, another group of students are focusing on a map of the Charles River Basin. Around the Hatch Shell, other students are learning about Mayor Tobin and the history of the Boston Pops Fourth of July concerts. After these students finish exploring the Esplanade by land, they will head onto the river and have the opportunity to explore the same area in kayaks.

The students, all from the South Boston Boys and Girls Club, are participating in a pilot parklands education program. A collaboration between the Charles River Conservancy, the Esplanade Association, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston and Community Boating. Charles River Canoe and Kayak in Herter Park also hosted events.

The program is putting kids right where they want to be -- smack in the middle of fun. "One of Boston's greatest resources is the Charles River and its adjoining parklands," says Fritz Nelson, the Charles River Conservancy's Director of Development and Programs and leader of the land-based activities. "It is important for youth to learn about these parks so they can appreciate what they have and help preserve it for the future." With the sun sparkling off the water and the excitement of the young kayakers, who can disagree.

The Esplanade Youth Education Program had its origins in a conversation between the Charles River Conservancy and the Esplanade Association and was in part make possible by the Esplanade Association's donation of kayaks to Community Boating. The Charles River Conservancy developed and leads the land-based activities, while Community Boating staff train the students in kayaking and supervise the water-based activities. Every participant is given a free membership to Community Boating and encouraged to return to the Esplanade on their own. During the summer of 2002, four groups from the South Boston Boys and Girls Club participated in the program.

The program will be expanded in the summer of 2003. Other youth education projects of The Charles River Conservancy include a partnership with Citizen Schools and a program to give youth a voice in designing a skatepark under the Leonard Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge .

Charles River Parklands is published by The Charles River Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation of the Basin parklands of the Charles River.

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Email: crc@thecharles.org

 
© 2002, The Charles River Conservancy.