Upstream - Page 1 of 2
Connecting Fish, Rivers and People!
Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 10:30 AM
Origami Fish Folding
Join us for a fish-focused morning at the Gardiner Public Library! Upstream member, Greg Ponte, will share information on healthy rivers and the fish that live in them...then Gardiner Public Library teen volunteer (and new volunteer to Upstream), Isabelle Files, will lead an origami fish folding activity. Join us to learn more about the sea-run fish passage, the current environmental health of the Cobbossee Watershed, and symbolically honor the many varieties of fish impacted by folding your own origami piece. As always, this event is free and open to the public. The Gardiner Public Library is located at 152 Water Street, Gardiner.
Friday, April 22, 2016, 3:00-5:00 PM
Earth Day Shout-out
Join volunteers from Upstream on Gardiner’s Bridge Street bridge as they make noise to celebrate the return of migratory alewives and their potential for restoration. Alewives, a river herring, swim up rivers and streams each May and June to lakes and ponds where they spawn. They are a keystone species and are vital the freshwater and saltwater ecosystems. In Gardiner, alewives face impassable dams but there have been successful efforts to restore their populations in other Maine communities. Rebounding alewife populations would bring a resurgence of eagles and osprey that dine on this fish. Rain date: Saturday, April 23, 10:00AM-12:00PM.
Friday May 6, 2016, 3:00-5:00 PM
Alewife Afternoon + World Fish Migration Day
Come decorate fish! In addition to Artwalk Gardiner’s rich array of local art there will be opportunities to learn about and celebrate efforts to bring migratory fish back to Cobbossee Stream. Artwalk Gardiner’s artist venues will be marked by seventeen fishing poles with decorative wooden fish. Johnson Hall Theater on Water Street will feature for activities for adults and children including opportunities for wooden fish painting, fish print making and face painting. Get into the spirit with an interactive exhibit, "Life along Cobbossee Stream" and a check out the short film, "A Year on the Stream." Upstream t-shirts will be for sale. The Johnson Hall Lobby will feature Clare Marron's daily sunrise photographs of the Kennebec River and Cobbossee Stream as well as a display of cheerfully hand-decorated wooden fish created by local children.
Also on May 6, Upstream will host nature walks on the new Harrison Avenue Nature Trail from 3:00-5:00 PM. Meet at the dip in the road on Harrison Avenue (6/10ths of mile in off Highland Avenue) every half hour to explore the stream's natural and industrial history with experts, and view the alewives on their annual spring migration.
The events in Gardiner are a part of World Fish Migration Day, a global-local event to create worldwide awareness of the importance of open rivers and migratory fish. It will be celebrated by over 1000 organizations around the globe. Cobbossee Stream is notable for its remarkable ecological potential. Information about other World Fish Migration Day events can be found at
All events are free and open to the public.
For more information: Tina Wood, or 207-582-0213.