GOING UPRIVER animated a touring exhibit for the Canadian Heritage Rivers System in the summer of 1988 with special interpretive programs presented at parks, historic sites, museums, and other venues. Bilingual (English/French) programs included CROSSCURRENTS, a series of illustrated concerts based on regional Great Lakes/St. Lawrence river themes, and WATERWATCH, a young audiences' program on stream ecology, as well as two training workshops.
The goal of this unique international co-operative effort was the promotion of awareness and stewardship of North America's river heritage, by sharing the social, cultural, and historical value of rivers as expressed in music, literature, folklore, and visual images.
Project staff traveled up the St. Lawrence from "Saint Croix to Saint Croix" (Saint Croix River, New Brunswick/Maine, to Lower St. Croix River, Wisconsin/Minnesota), crossing the U.S./Canadian border six times, to present a total of 77 public programs and eleven exhibit displays at 26 program sites. This report highlights the summer tour, describes and evaluates programs, and offers some reflections on the meaning of the journey.
GOING UPRIVER was bound together by several underlying themes and symbols:
- • the geographical fact of the Great Lakes
- • water transportation as a symbol of regional trade, natural resources and communication
- • the confluence of individual lives into the river of history, as expressed in the stream of culture that is folklore
- • the essence of rivers and of music: stillness in motion
- • the spirit of the voyageur: adventure, wilderness, exploration and freedom in the path of the paddle
- • heritage conservation as the nexus of natural and cultural landscapes in the uniqueness of place.
It was a remarkable project for several reasons: its international, transboundary scope; the collaboration of Federal and nonprofit organizations, supported by a coalition of public and private agencies; its use of music and folklore to communicate heritage values; and finally, the way in which the literal journey became an example of regional unity. Such a project can serve as a model for international, interagency co-operation, and catalyze exchange of ideas and technical expertise in education for river conservation.
GOING UPRIVER was sponsored by the Atlantic Center for the Environment, a division of the Quebec-Labrador Foundation. The Atlantic Center for the Environment promotes environmental understanding and encourages public involvement in resolving resource issues in Atlantic Canada, eastern Quebec and northern New England: the Atlantic Region. This interregional exchange and education project is a centerpiece of the Atlantic Center's new rivers initative.
Support for GOING UPRIVER was provided by The George Gund and William H. Donner foundations; the Canadian Heritage Rivers System; the U.S. National Park Service; and program sites.
For more information on this and other Atlantic Center programs, please contact:
QLF/Atlantic Center for the Environment
39 South Main Street
Ipswich, MA 01938-2321
(508) 356-0038
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