Expedition to Connect Chesapeake and Delaware Restoration Lessons
Leaders from the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River restoration efforts will converge on a three day kayak trip to witness a river that is a national success story having gone from an industrial wasteland to now on the rebound and much closer to swimmable and fishable. While activating networks and cross pollinating ideas, the group will paddle 39 miles of the Delaware River’s main stem and tributaries in a back to basics camping expedition.
On Friday, the trip begins with a 4.5 creek paddle from the Tulpehaking Nature Center through one of the largest marsh expanses on the Delaware River. The group will continue another 12.5 miles to camp on the river’s edge at the historic Red Dragon Canoe Club (circa 1883), one of the nation’s oldest boating clubs.
On Saturday, paddlers set out down river for 17 miles into the heart of Philadelphia witnessing the years of aging commercial commerce on the river giving way to a very active port. The group disembarks at the Independence Seaport Museum, to dine and spend the night on the USS Olympia, a historic warship from the 1898 Spanish American War.
On Sunday, the group finishes with a 5 mile paddle taking out on the Cooper River where the remarkable leaders will pack up and plan their next expedition.
Upstream Alliance would like to thank John Brady, from the Independence Seaport Museum, and Tom Horton, Salisbury University, who will be co-hosting this expedition with Upstream Alliance.