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Connected Waterways: People, Place, and Environment
An art exhibition by Cornell Environment and Sustainability students from the class, “Art and Science of the Mohawk River Watershed."
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Please join us for our art exhibition, Connected Waterways: People, Place, and Environment. August 17th 1-5pm at the amazing Schoharie River Center in Esperance, NY.​
What does it take to know a watershed? You must know its people, history, environment, challenges, and hopes for the future. During the spring of 2024, Cornell University students came to know the Mohawk River Watershed–an area most had never visited–by exploring the region through many lenses. To connect with its people, students engaged with youth from the New York Mills middle school and the Mohawk Valley Youth Climate Summit to cover a canoe in “messages to the Mohawk River.” Students listened to Mohawk Storytellers recount legends passed down through generations and later stood at Cohoes Falls, the site where the Great Peacemaker survived a perilous fall and united the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Their knowledge of the watershed’s environment and challenges grew through visits to the Schoharie River Center and the Mohawk River Watershed Symposium, where they discussed flooding, industrial pollution, invasive species, and the Erie Canal. Finally, students applied an ecological art lens to create a final piece for this exhibition that reflects their knowledge, insights, and hopes for the watershed. Artmaking gave students the freedom to tackle complex themes, especially those surrounding environmental degradation and land dispossession, which are often difficult to articulate using words. We hope you find inspiration in these pieces, and join us in advocating for healthy watersheds in New York State.
We are honored to showcase this work at the Schoharie River Center and extend our gratitude to the NY Water Resources Institute for making this work possible.
Not only can you catch our exhibition, but there will be an open house at the SRC where you can learn all about their organization, eat BBQ, listen to live music, swim in the creek and more.
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