Host a screening of one or several of Riverkeeper’s short documentary films, including, One Dam At A Time, A Living River, Undamming the Hudson, and Source to Sea.
One Dam at a Time (21 mins) highlights Riverkeeper’s dam removal work restoring free-flowing creeks and streams in the Hudson Valley. At least 1,600 dams fragment the creeks and streams of the Hudson Valley, most of them obsolete. By removing dams that no longer serve a purpose, we can reopen vital spawning grounds and allow the ecosystem to heal and flourish. Riverkeeper’s landmark success at Wynants Kill – a dam removal project by Riverkeeper, the City of Troy, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in 2016 – was just the start. It was the first dam removed along the Hudson expressly for the passage of fish. “One Dam at a Time” follows the effort as it extended to the Quassaick Creek in Newburgh and Furnace Brook in Westchester County in 2020, and shows how these streams are being transformed.
A Living River (24 mins) chronicles the efforts of Riverkeeper, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and others to restore the life and the ecosystem of the Hudson River.
Undamming the Hudson River (16 mins) showcases Riverkeeper’s efforts to restore natural habitat by eliminating obsolete dams throughout the Hudson River Estuary. Many fish use tributaries to the Hudson River as pathways to move between feeding, nursery, and spawning grounds. Unfortunately, thousands of dams, many built in the 19th and 20th centuries are blocking those pathways and dramatically shrinking accessible habitat area, causing declines in fish and other wildlife. As the years have passed, these dams often no longer serve the purposes for which they were originally built and many have fallen into disrepair.
Source to Sea (15 mins) is about our water quality monitoring program. Each year Riverkeeper, our partners, and 150+ citizen scientists take over 4,000 samples to monitor water quality on the Hudson River and select tributaries. This data provides insight into where and when it’s safe to swim, and informs our local and state advocacy for improvements and investments in our stormwater and wastewater systems.