Forty-Mile Stories: Student Storytelling on the Susquehanna River

Elaine Langone Center, Room 241

We present a narrative approach to cultivating identification with and value to the Susquehanna River through experiential, place-based learning. This stems from work completed in a course titled “Environmental Advocacy Writing” and will be divided between the instructor’s perspective and a student’s perspective on the project, engaging pedagogy on environmental writing, science writing, and experiential learning. This presentation represents the pilot of a larger project, supported by River Stewards, which will divide the river into twelve 40-mile sections and engage students in the process of developing narratives that promote the spirit of the diversity along this river, the common waters that run through these communities, and efforts in addressing environmental issues. Communication efforts often treat rivers as a single body that connects all communities along its course. This approach differs by dividing the river into twelve sections treated as both distinct and interconnected units. We anticipate people will more easily identify with the river when divided into distinct localities. Just as we are all simultaneously proud Americans and proud Pennsylvanians, we wish citizens to identify as stewards of the Susquehanna River as well as stewards of the Dauphin Narrows, Lake Clarke, or the Isle of Que. This particular presentation focuses on student writing on the area around Wrightsville and Columbia. We intend to both present our initial work on this project and cultivate interest for future collaboration with universities along the course of the Susquehanna.