Spring is here and it is time to get outside and enjoy the River. The marshes are turning green again and filled with nesting birds. Take advantage of some of the upcoming activities listed below to visit the River, or make some outings of your own.  Here for you is the latest “news from the sloughs.

Cheers; Capt. Dave Yearsley

Tom Sawyer Days:

Tom Sawyer Day, hosted by Friends of the Petaluma River at the River Heritage Center on April 10^th, helped to celebrate Sonoma County’s “Big Read”. It was a wonderful experience for every one who attended. Despite showers early in the day over 150 people, many of them children, visited Steamer Landing Park to partake in the fun.

Fortunately the skies cleared in time for people to enjoy the variety of activities offered. A visit by Mark Twain (portrayed by George Weber) began the day, a River raft was built and sailed on the river by a team of aspiring river rats. Children, with bindle sticks containing snacks spread out over the grounds to discover a River camp (with a tepee), Indian Joe’s cave (where treasure was hidden), and a pirate ship (with Jolly Rodger flag). The Sonoma Co. free bookmobile was present to distribute books and several musical groups performed on the indoor stage.

A dedicated team of volunteers was responsible for producing this wonderful community event. Key among them were Eve O’Rourke who facilitated the raft building, Leonard Page who created the River Camp and Indian Joe’s cave, Bonna Benedetti-Flynn provided “bindle sticks” for all the children, and Martha Murphy who created costume rooms. Special thanks go to Elizabeth Howland who coordinated the day’s activities. Major funding for the event was provided by a $750 grant from KRCB, who organized Sonoma County’s “Big Read” activities and a generous $500 donation from Clover Stornetta.

More highlights are available at Friends of Petaluma River’s and Patrick Campbell’s Flickr sites. You can also read about the event and “Big Read” related activities here and here.

River Cleanup coming May 8:

Once again the Petaluma River Clean-up committee is making arrangements for this annual spring event. Help is needed with organizing the cleanup as well as setting up materials and picking up trash on the day of the event.  For more information visit the River Cleanup web site or contact them at PetalumaRiverATgmailDOTcom. Download the flyer here.

“Teaching with Small Boats” conference:

by Elizabeth Howland

Friends of the Petaluma River’s founder David Yearsley and I recently returned from attending the first Teaching with Small Boats Conference.  We went seeking models for future programs at Friend’s new River Heritage Center. The 3-day conference was held at the Alexandria Seaport Center Foundation’s Boat Shop March 12 – 14, 2010 and was organized by their staff and student apprentices, as well as the Seattle’s Center for Wooden Boats and Wooden Boat Magazine.  Over 90 participants from 63 different organizations from the U.S. and Canada joined us there. The programs represented consisted of 53 established programs and 10 start-ups.

So many things that happened during our time there taught and inspired us. Almost all of the participants have created “Experiential Learning” programs to give young people (and in many cases adults as well) opportunities to develop life skills through boat building and on the water boating programs; that can also meet educational requirements such as math, reading and history, as well as in some cases, teach job skills.  The leaders of these organizations all came to this work through a love of wooden craft and boating, but they found that their greatest joy and sense of accomplishment came from watching what happens when kids learn these skills, when they begin and complete the building of a boat, that ultimately is launched and enjoyed by the community.  As Joe Youcha, Event host and founder of the Alexandria Seaport Foundation said to us, “We say we are building boats here, but actually, we are building lives.”

Joe and his group work with kids in the greater D.C. area, who are “at risk,” by virtue of having been referred to Social Services or being on their way to Juvenile Hall. The Alexandria Seaport program was launched to help these kids complete their GED’s, learn job skills and most importantly, develop a sense of competency and self-esteem. The current “Apprentices” in their program were our hosts, served our food, cleaned up after us, video recorded the conference, showed us around their shop and joined in for the presentations and discussions.  These kids were engaged, involved and proud of their work. Joe said that in 17 years, he could count on one hand the few times they have had any kind of social issues or behavior problems.

Another terrific organization that gave a presentation of their efforts was Rocking the Boat which was formed about 15 years ago in the Bronx by Adam Green, who was at that time a college student who volunteered to build a boat with some junior high students.  Rocking the Boat today has an annual budget over $1 million dollars, with several programs for kids including boat building, youth advocacy, job skills, on the water, as well as community access to wooden boats. They focus their boat building primarily on classic 14’ Whitehall rowing boats and have begun a program to mill their own materials from fallen trees.

Legendary folk singer Pete Seeger is an active supporter of this award winning group, and last year students harvested a tree from his country property, milled it and now have the lumber for their 2010 boat building program. During the summer months, residents and visitors can check out one of their boats for a row on the Bronx River. Last summer over 2,000 residents and visitors got out on the river as a result of this program.

The Seattle Wooden Boat Center and many others are getting people out on the water as well, utilizing historic wooden boats. Dick Wagner, Founding Director and Emma Levitt, Youth Programs Manager, spoke about their program, which is focused on providing a gathering place where maritime history comes alive through direct experience and small craft heritage is enjoyed, preserved, and passed along to future generations. Dick Wagner has offered to visit the Friends of the Petaluma River this fall to share with our members the beginning and evolution of the Seattle Wooden Boat Center.

This is just the smallest sampling of the programs that were represented at the conference.  We were inspired by the enthusiasm, creativity and passion of all of the participants, particularly around their witness to the power that experiential learning has, through the medium of boat building and on the water boating skills, to transform kid’s lives, and ultimately, those of their mentors and teachers.  Plans are now in the works for another conference to be held in 2012 and the formation of a national organization to support programs and individuals that practice teaching using small boats.

Barn Owl Box Success!

January of this year Friends helped to build and place 4 Barn Owl boxes in the community. We are happy to report that 2 of the boxes are now occupied. The ones at the River Heritage Center and Ellis Creek Water Recycling Plant have distinctive the signs of activity like dirt around the openings and owl pellets on the ground below them. Have a look the next time you visit the River Heritage Center.

Dolphin Charters back in town:

Once again our Friends at Dolphin Charters are offering their popular 3 hour River tours on the Petaluma River. Tours are available in the morning and afternoons on Sat & Sunday April 10 &11 – May 8 & 9 leaving from the Turning Basin’s River House dock. More information is at Dolphin Charters’ web site. Download the flyer front and back.

New sculpture graces the River Heritage Center:

A new sculpture at the entrance to Petaluma River Heritage Center will now help guide visitors to the sometimes hard to locate setting for special events. It consists of a donated derelict dory that was restored and painted by Friend’s volunteers.

Local designer Robert Hudson, who helped conceive the sculpture, created the logo bearing mast and sail. Other key contributors to the project were sail maker John Amen, sign maker Warren Purcell, and landscape artist Eve O’Rourke. We also owe thanks to architect Todd Bloch who designed the wonderful logo for the RHC and the Petaluma Public Arts Committee.

Visit our Flickr site to see all of our action packed photos online.