Voice of the River

The Green Mountain State has always had a "culture of nature." The Connecticut River played a key role in shaping the state, and its watershed today holds special natural areas from the Northern Forest to the Silvio Conte Fish and Wildlife refuge. Explore the Connecticut Valley's sense of place through writings, songs, and poems from river travellers, valley settlers, and river lovers. Discover your own relationship with Vermont in the voice of the river.

Voice of the River (song)

(Lynn Noel for Connecticut RiverFest 1996, read by Gordon Bok)

We are the forces of earth and of sky
Shaping the voice of the river
Rising in vapor on each sunny day
From rainstorm and cloud down the waterfall's way
Crumbling mountains to silt, sand and clay
We are the voice of the river.

We are the creatures of river and stream
Breathing the voice of the river.
Tadpole and bullfrog, amoeba, crayfish
Salmon and sockeye, …

Foghorns on the River

On foggy days, you can hear the ship's horn through the trees. These are tall pines, even in the deep snow, but not as tall as the great mast pines the King's men sent down the river on the old days. One broke on the woods trail, and three more wedged and snapped in the rapids at Bellows Falls. But the rest rode on down the river to the Connect…

Music, Sense of Place and River Conservation

The basic equation of conservation is that RESOURCE MANAGEMENT=REGULATION + EDUCATION. In today's political and social climate of deregulation, defunding of government and nonregulatory management tools, education is assuming the pivotal role. Environmental and especially experiential or outdoor education has largely been in the nonformal sector, where parks, camps and nature centers have long known that activities must be both enjoyable, participatory and community-building in order to be e…