On the afternoon of September 29, rather than holding class in a sober and stuffy classroom, Dr. Justin Mando took his students on their annual Susquehanna River kayak trip. At 4:30pm, when a discussion of rhetoric and the environment would be introduced during an average class day, the students were getting into their kayaks from […]
“Every time I take a class on this trip, one person falls in the river.” That was the line our Environmental Advocacy Writing professor, Dr. Justin Mando, said before our class went on the annual kayaking trip. As we drove to Shanks Mare Outfitters… As we picked our kayak partner… As I put my backpack […]
Brook Lenker grew-up exploring Pennsylvania’s waters, and has spent his career educating, protecting, and advocating for the state’s natural resources. His many titles have included Manager of Education and Outreach for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and Executive Director of FracTracker Alliance. Now, upon the May release of his debut novel, […]
Photo above: Senior History and Anthropology double major and class TA (teaching assistant), Benjamin Erickson, shares his findings on the Huston, Bowman, Hiestand Marietta Community House. What makes a community worth protecting? Is it the number of historical buildings within its limits? The presence of thriving businesses and industries? The quality of its scenic outdoor […]
If someone were to ask you, “What is Environmental Advocacy?” would you be able to provide an answer for them? The students of Millersville University’s first environmental advocacy class, led by Dr. Justin Mando, spent a semester trying to pick apart the meaning of that question together. Their investigation began with a trip down the […]
Millersville University’s Environmental Advocacy Writing course has taken to the Susquehanna River as a source of inspiration. The students have been tasked with telling stories of the river, focusing on the people, plants, animals, and places that make the Susquehanna a valuable connector for our area. What better way to start that process than by […]
In extreme northwestern Lancaster County, when the Susquehanna River recedes, as it has now, careful exploring on foot reveals an otherworldly canvas where geology meets art. Here, at the Conewago Falls near Falmouth, Conoy Township, just below Three Mile Island, molten rock, ruptured glacial lakes and thousands of years of erosion have left behind a […]
My River Story Growing up fishing the tributaries to the Susquehanna River helped me to weave a connective thread with water, the surrounding environment, and the interactions and influences of humans on these seemingly separate ecosystems. However, the circuitous route to get to this point in my understanding of this complex relationship has been as […]
Kayaking the stretch of the Susquehanna from Fort Hunter down to the Highspire takeout near the Turnpike Bridge takes you on a journey that tells the story of the River and the history of Pennsylvania. The river here winds through what is the most urbanized stretch of the Susquehanna. Yet, as you push off from […]
When I moved to Harrisburg back in 2004, the first thing I noticed was the river. It was so wide; it dominated the landscape. From that first glance, I wanted to know more about it. But not by reading books or internet articles, I wanted to experience it firsthand. A kayak would become the vessel […]