THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WATER IS CLEAR

HUDSON RIVER SLOOP CLEARWATER

Water is at its most beautiful when it is clear. And while that used to be its normal state in rivers and streams, unwise and unchecked industrial and agricultural practices, along with poor waste management, rendered them murky, chemically unbalanced, littered, and even toxic.

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater was one of the first organizations ever to focus on cleaning up rivers to restore them to clarity and health.

Clearwater was founded 45 years ago by Pete Seeger, a legendary folk singer-songwriter turned environmental activist, in an effort to deal with the near catastrophic pollution of his beloved Hudson River.

Seeger built a 106’ wooden sailboat, named Clearwater, to sail the river and inspire people along the way to join in an effort to save it and restore it to a state of clear water beauty and health. The sloop Clearwater became America’s Environmental Flagship, and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 for its role in the environmental movement.

The Clearwater organization has operated at the forefront of environmental challenges, gaining worldwide recognition for its leadership in helping to pass landmark environmental laws, both state and federal, including the highly successful Clean Water Act. In 2002, Seeger was named a “Clean Water Hero.”

More recently, Clearwater played a key role in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPAs) decision to remove PCBs from the Hudson River.

Clearwater also provides innovative environmental programs, advocacy, and celebrations designed to inspire, educate and activate the next generation of environmental leaders.

Today, Clearwater carries Seeger’s legacy forward by partnering with schools and community leaders to raise the bar of environmental education to help develop active stewards of rivers and the environment as a whole.   

Each summer, Clearwater draws throngs of people to the Hudson River for the Great Hudson River Revival, the country’s oldest music and environmental festival.

Since the 1960s, the Festival has grown into the country’s largest annual environmental celebration, its music, dance and storytelling, education and activism attracting thousands of people of all ages to the shoresof the Hudson River.

The Festival is also home to the juried Handcrafters’ Village, the Green Living Expo, the Working Waterfront with small boat exhibits and rides, the Artisanal Food & Farm Market, and the Circle of Song.

The original mission of the Revival was to raise the funds to build and maintain the sloop Clearwater. Today, funds raised also support Clearwater’s numerous educational programs and its work toward environmental and social justice.

The 2017 Clearwater Festival will take place on Saturday and Sunday, June 17 and 18, at Croton Point Park in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. Nick Lowe, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Osborne, & Los Lobos, are among the folk and indie performers scheduled to perform.

Check out the Festival and donate to Clearwater. All proceeds go directly to support Clearwater’s environmental research, education and advocacy efforts to help preserve and protect the Hudson River and its tributaries, as well as communities in the river valley.

Read more about Beautiful Clear in The Most Beautiful Clear Bird’s-Eye View and Chihuly is Clearly & Utterly Beautiful at NY Botanical Garden Now.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Eden Richardson. “Sailing.” Hudson River. New York.
2. Image: by Anthony Pepitone. “Sloop Clearwater sailing up the Hudson River.” New York.
3. Photo: by Dona Crawford. “Pete Seeger with Clearwater.” Hudson River, New York.
4. Image: by Peretz Partensky. “Clearwater on the Hudson.” Hudson River. New York.
5. Image: by diane cordell. Hudson River, Tahawus.
6. Image: by diane cordell. “Floating Among the Trees.” Hudson River. South Glens Falls, New York.
7. Image: by Andy Arthur. “Sunset by River.” Hudson River. New York.
8. Image: Clearwater Sloop sails at Hudson Clearwater Revival. Courtesy of Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.
9. Image: by Dorice Arden. Clearwater Sloop. Courtesy of Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.
10. Image: by Jim, the Photographer. Hudson Clearwater Revival. Hudson River.
11. Image: by Jim, the Photographer. “Clearwater. Hudson River Clearwater Festival” Hudson River. New York.
12. Image: by Coryn Wolk. “Night and Day.” Clearwater Sloop. Hudson River. New York.
13. Image: by Bill Revill. “Hudson River singer - Clearwater Festival.”
14. Image: by WhatsAllThisThen.  Clipper ship sails on Hudson River in New York harbor.
15. Image: by Waywuwei. “The Sloop Clearwater.” Hudson River. New York.
16. Image: by BN App - Download now!
17. Image by: Michael Muraz. “Simplicity.” Downtown Manhattan from J. Owen Grundy Park. New York, NY.