A woman who writes of (among other things) swimming across rivers will be the keynote speaker at the Nashua River Watershed Association’s annual meeting next month. 

Akiko Busch lives along the Hudson River, herself, and she will speak about the themes she covered in her last book, “Nine Ways to Cross a River,” a collection of essays. See the press release below for details, and check out this NY Times piece for a splash of her work. 

The NRWA also plans a free workshop on sustainable, local-based economy and  development later that month…. keep scrolling on down for info.

I can vouch that the Nashua River is a fine place to swim, when it’s hot enough to tempt you (it’s been way too cold for quite a while now). There are some fun rope swings here and there, and the water is a lot cleaner than it smells.  

“Author Akiko Busch

to Speak at NRWA Annual Meeting”

 The Nashua River Watershed Association (NRWA) is pleased to announce that author Akiko Busch will be the keynote speaker at its 2008 Annual Meeting on Friday, November 7^th, at the Devens Common Center in Devens, Massachusetts.  Ms. Busch will speak on the topic “Nine Ways to Cross a River: Midstream Reflections on Swimming and Getting There from Here.”         

 Akiko Busch has written about design, culture, and the natural world since 1979. She is the author of Geography of Home: Writings on Where We Live and The Uncommon Life of Common Objects:  Essays on Design and the Everyday. Her most recent book of essays, Nine Ways to Cross a River, a collection of essays about swimming across American rivers, was published in 2007 by Bloomsbury/USA. She was a contributing editor at Metropolis magazine for 20 years, and her essays have appeared in numerous national magazines and exhibition catalogues. She has taught at the University of Hartford and Bennington College, and has appeared on public radio in the U.S. and Canada. Currently, she is a regular contributor to the New York Times Sunday regional section.  She lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband and two sons.

 The NRWA will also present its annual awards during the evening’s program. The NRWA 2008 Land and Water Conservation Award will be given to Jim French of Sterling, MA.  The NRWA 2008 Environmental Education Award recipient is Pete Lanza of Leominster, MA.  The Association’s Watershed and River Club corporate members will also be recognized.       

The NRWA event on November 7^th begins at 6:00 p.m. with a reception and corporate member recognition at 6:45.  Dinner will be served at 7:00 p.m., followed by the business meeting, NRWA annual awards, and the keynote speaker at 7:30. The cost to attend dinner is $60.00; reservations are required for dinner.  The business portion of the Annual Meeting, beginning at 7:30, is free of charge. The public is welcome to attend.  For reservations and information, call the NRWA at (978) 448-0299, or visit www.NashuaRiverWatershed.org.

Sustainable development workshop:

The Nashua River Watershed Association (NRWA) and the Groton and Harvard Locals are       co-sponsoring a free workshop over two evenings in November on smart development and sustainability principles in light of the challenges of natural resource depletion, constraints to water supply and agricultural lands, and increasingly difficult economic conditions. The need to move towards a more sustainable, locally-based economy in harmony with ecological realities will be the guiding principle of this two evening workshop.

The Smart Development and Sustainability Summit will take place on Wednesday, November 12 and Thursday, November 13, from 7:00 – 9:15 PM, at the Nashua River Watershed Association’s River Resource Center at 592 Main Street (Route 119), Groton, Massachusetts.  It is free and open to the public.   

The workshop presenters for the first evening include Mark Archambault, Smart Growth Circuit Rider at the Nashua River Watershed Association, who will present an update on peak oil and the  economic, resource depletion and environmental challenges facing sustainability efforts, and Chris Ryan, Planning Director for the Town of Ayer, who will speak on what planning for relocalization actually entails. On the second evening, Catherine Miller, Principal Planner at the Pioneer Valley Regional Planning Commission, will speak on the Pioneer Valley Sustainability Network, and Neil Angus, Planner at the Devens Enterprise Commission, will speak on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) program and recent sustainable development practices being put into place at Devens.

This workshop should be especially useful to members of Planning Boards, Conservation Commissions, Boards of Selectmen, and members of the local sustainability community. The general public is encouraged to attend.

The Nashua River Watershed Association is able to sponsor this free and open to the public presentation due to the award of an EPA Targeted Watershed Grant entitled: “Protecting Today’s Water for Tomorrow, Combating Threats to Source Water in the Squannacook and Nissitissit sub-basins of the Nashua River Watershed.”

Registration in advance is requested.  To register or for further information, please contact Mark Archambault, NRWA Smart Growth Circuit Rider, at (978) 448-0299, or email MarkA@NashuaRiverWatershed.org.

            The NRWA event on November 7^th begins at 6:00 p.m. with a reception and corporate member recognition at 6:45.  Dinner will be served at 7:00 p.m., followed by the business meeting, NRWA annual awards, and the keynote speaker at 7:30. The cost to attend dinner is $60.00; reservations are required for dinner.  The business portion of the Annual Meeting, beginning at 7:30, is free of charge. The public is welcome to attend.  For reservations and information, call the NRWA at (978) 448-0299, or visit www.NashuaRiverWatershed.org.