The aim of the HHLT Hudson Highlands Regional River of Words Program is to educate, collaborate, and celebrate the natural resources and scenic beauty of the Hudson Highlands with children throughout the region and instill a sense of the importance of stewardship in our youngest residents.
HHLT's Hudson Highlands Regional River of Words Program continues this summer with art and poetry workshops through July at the ROW Habitat for Artists Studio located behind the HHLT office
Thursday, July 8, 3-5pm Journal-making with Debbie Haviland & Lisa Mechaley - Make personal journals from recycled materials in this fun two hour workshop. Once your journal is complete, we will do some nature journal writing.
Thursday, July 22, 3-5pm Nature Stamps with Cathy Bakker & Lisa Mechaley - Create your very own stamps out of natural materials and use them to create original work of art.
Workshops are free to kids age six and up -- caregivers are welcome to stay or drop-off -- please pre-register by calling 845-424-3358 or emailing info@hhlt.org.
Also, kids ten and up can sign-up for time slots to use the ROW habitat studio to work on their own poetry and art projects throughout the summer. Email info@hhlt.org to reserve a time.
HUDSON HIGHLANDS REGIONAL RIVER OF WORDS PROGRAM
HHLT launched the Hudson Highlands Regional River of Words Program in 2009, as part of an international poetry and art program created to promote literacy and environmental stewardship. HHLT’s regional version is designed to educate, collaborate, and celebrate the natural resources and scenic beauty of the Hudson Highlands through Hudson River watershed-inspired poetry created by fourth and fifth grade students at area schools.
River of Words (ROW) is an international poetry and art program created to promote literacy and environmental stewardship. Affiliated with the Library of Congress Center for the Book and co-founded by US Poet Laureate Robert Hass, ROW sponsors a free annual environmental poetry and art contest on the theme of watersheds, open to children ages 5 to 19. Since 1995, River of Words has trained teachers, park naturalists, grassroots groups, state resource agencies, librarians and others to incorporate observation-based nature exploration and the arts into their work with young people. In addition to helping improve children’s literacy—and cognitive skills like investigation and critical thinking—River of Words’ multidisciplinary, hands-on approach to education nurtures students’ creative voices as well, through instruction and practice in art and poetry.
HOW THE HHLT REGIONAL ROW PROGRAM WORKS
The Hudson Highlands Regional River of Words program uses the resources and materials of the national program to focus on our own watershed -- the Hudson River. The program consists of the following components:
- Annual regional program workshop(s) and in-district training sessions for educators, providing a foundation for incorporating this program seamlessly into existing curriculum.
- A variety of in-class student workshops and outdoor field study experiences conducted by our program team in collaboration with class teachers that educate on environmental science, poetry writing and local history and inspire students to participate by creating a body of work inspired by the Hudson River watershed.
- Culminating events including poetry readings and displays in community settings, the publication of a Hudson Highlands Regional River of Words anthology.
- A conduit for students to participate in ROW’s international contest.
GOALS & ELIGIBILITY
By developing and managing a regional River of Words program, HHLT hopes to bring this extraordinary program to the Hudson Highlands region, creating a collaborative connection between area school districts focusing on local environmental study. This program can provide a forum for students to connect with each other thoughtfully and creatively through a common theme: the Hudson River.
Launched as a pilot program beginning in the ’08-09 school year, the HHLT Regional ROW program will expand to a full scale program in the ’09-10 school year. Fourth and fifth grades in the following school districts are eligible to participate:
- Haldane
- Garrison
- Putnam Valley
- Cornwall
- Highland Falls/Fort Montgomery
For information on implementing the HHLT ROW program in your school, or to schedule workshops, please contact Lisa Mechaley, ROW Program Manager, at row@hhlt.org or 845-424-3358.
Teacher Training Workshop Flyer 
(152k pdf)
Student Workshop Flyer
(152k pdf)
This program is made possible in part through the generous support of the Malcolm Gordon Charitable Trust, which was created to further the Open Space Institute’s environmental education programs.