Clearwater Re-Launches Young Women At The Helm Youth Empowerment Program

This press release just in from Clearwater…

BEACON, NY – After a two year COVID hiatus, Clearwater proudly welcomed the return of their Young Women at the Helm youth empowerment program last week. Participants ranged from ages 14-18 years, joining Clearwater from NYC, Westchester, Beacon, Poughkeepsie, and New Jersey. This entirely donor-funded program is designed to empower young women by engaging them in a wide range of physical and academic activities. Onboard, participants learned and practiced sailing deck skills, knot tying, coiling lines, and navigation. They also learned about the Hudson River through a variety of lenses, including water quality, ecology, and Indigenous Peoples.

In the evening, the group had a sunset seine on the beach in Alpine and camped on shore, where they shared reflections on the day, asked crew questions about Clearwater, sailing, college, career paths, and of course, they sang together.

Participant Samantha L. said, “Everyone here is so different, which meant that every conversation was different and I got to learn a lot more.” Samantha continued, “I never thought I would feel so in touch with myself and with the earth that I do now. Being on this boat and camping gives a lot of time to just stop and take in the world around you, which we don’t get often in regular life. I’ve definitely grown as a person and had so much fun trying new things.”

The program was led by Outreach and Engagement Manager Amali Knobloch, First Mate Fredi Guevara-Prip, Captain Annika Savio, Program Director Ruthie Gold, and the entire crew of the Clearwater.

Program Director, Ruthie Gold commented on this year’s program, "It was amazing to see the transformation of our participants from shy, quiet, teens, to funny, bright, passionate-about-the-River friends in a matter of hours! We are thrilled that we were able to share the magic of the Hudson and the Clearwater with these young women and look forward to offering Young Women at the Helm and our other Youth Empowerment Programs next summer."

*******

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater was launched in 1969 by legendary folk singer and activist Pete Seeger, Clearwater has been at the forefront of the environmental movement as a champion of the Hudson River. To date, more than half a million people have experienced their first real look at an estuary’s ecosystem aboard the Sloop Clearwater. Clearwater has become a grassroots model for producing positive changes to protect the waters of our planet. For more information, visit www.clearwater.org.

Clearwater Demands Swift Formation of Decommissioning Oversight Board For Soon To Be Holtec's Indian Point

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, launched in 1969 by legendary folk singer and activist Pete Seeger, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater has been at the forefront of the environmental movement as a champion of the Hudson River. Clearwater has been one of the leading organizations advocating for and monitoring the closing of Indian Point, which is entering into the decommissioning phase.

Regarding the sale, Governor Andrew Cuomo stated: "As Governor and previously as Attorney General, I have been deeply concerned with the safety of the Indian Point nuclear power facility given its proximity to some of the most densely populated areas in the nation. This is a win for the health and safety of New Yorkers, and the protection of our environment."

The sale of Indian Point to Holtec comes with a number of requirements, some of which are reported on at lohud. New York State’s Department of Public Service stated that an Indian Point Nuclear Decommissioning Oversight Board would be formed as part of the deal. According to reporting, Holtec, which is based in New Jersey, “wants to build an interim underground repository in the New Mexico desert for the 83,000 metric tons of nuclear waste stored at power plants across the U.S.”

To keep the pressure on the Decommissioning Board, Clearwater issued the following press release on Friday, May 21, 2021:

###

The recent announcement that the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) approved the transfer of Indian Point’s licenses to Holtec International makes it urgent that the Commission convene a Decommissioning Oversight Board (DOB) immediately to review the company’s decommissioning plans.

The DOB should be comprised of all State agencies with jurisdiction over various aspects of decommissioning, together with independent scientists and experts in relevant fields, and a diverse group of representatives of affected communities, including environmental justice communities, environmental and citizens’ groups, business, labor, and first responders.

It’s important for the DOB to meet now, with its first order of business being to review Holtec's proposed Post-Shutdown Activities Report – their actual plan for:

• Decommissioning

• Site remediation

• Radioactive waste management.

The plan is deficient in many respects and the DOB will need to get ahead of the many thorny problems that Holtec’s approach raises. Board members must have adequate time to study these issues thoroughly, and the DOB must submit its recommendations before PSC takes any action on it.

The PSC approved the license transfer subject to an agreement jointly negotiated by the state of New York, environmental organizations, Entergy (the former license holder) and Holtec.

Clearwater opposed the license transfer given Holtec’s problematic track record and lack of qualifications. While the joint agreement improves the prospects for a financially and environmentally responsible decommissioning process, it fails to adequately address many of our questions and concerns about Holtec’s plans. These include

• Removal of spent fuel from the fuel pools less than 3 years before it has cooled sufficiently to move (especially high burn-up fuel, which requires 7 or more years of cooling)

• The lack of rigorous onsite and offsite radiation monitoring needed to protect workers and the surrounding community

• Superficial remediation of soils contaminated with radioactivity

• No remediation of radioactivity leaking into the groundwater and the Hudson

• Serious quality assurance, performance and safety problems with Holtec’s dry storage system for spent fuel

• Holtec’s intention to ship high-level radioactive waste (which may include highly irradiated spent fuel) by barge down the Hudson, past New York City, to its consolidated interim storage facilities in New Mexico.

These and other issues related to Indian Point decommissioning raise serious safety concerns calling for diligent examination by the DOB. At the federal level, Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight has been extremely lax, granting exemptions on request and effectively rubber stamping whatever Holtec proposed whether or not it violated existing regulation, or in some cases, existing law. These important issues need review by the DOB before Holtec resolves them on its own terms. We call on the PSC to empanel the DOB now and convene its first meeting quickly.

###

Remastered Virtual Hudson River Revival Music Festival to be Restreamed October 4th

The Great Hudson River Revival (AKA Clearwater Festival), the world’s oldest and largest music and environmental festival, went virtual this year on June 20th due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Due to popular demand, Clearwater will stream a remastered version of the all-day event on Sunday, October 4th from 11am-11pm at ClearwaterFestival.org. The remastered Revival will include a day full of music and activism, as well as a beautiful American Sign Language interpretation throughout. This is a free virtual event however, donations are greatly appreciated at ClearwaterFestival.org. 

This Year’s Performers

The event will feature musical performers, storytellers, and activists, including: Tom Chapin, David Amram, John McCutcheon, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, Peter Yarrow, John McEuen, Noel Paul Stookey, Tom Paxton, Emma’s Revolution, Guy Davis, Tommy Sands, Reggie Harris, The Mammals, The Chapin Sisters, Lyn Hardy, Arm of the Sea Theater, Abbie Gardner, Breakneck Ridge Revue, R.J. Storm, Magpie, The Rix, The Vanaver Caravan, Betty and the Baby Boomers, Kyle Tigges, Mel and Vinnie and more.

Going Virtual 

Bringing Revival into the virtual world has allowed Clearwater to reach new audiences globally, and also include folks who’ve not been able to attend the festival in person due to health, geographic, or financial restrictions. The online fundraising event raised over $50,000 for Clearwater when it originally streamed in June earlier this year.

Tom Chapin, one of the event’s organizers and a musician participating in Virtual Revival, said, “Happiness, for me, is performing at the Clearwater Revival and, for the first time, being able to actually watch all the other great artists play. Tune in and join us. Support the group that built the sloop that saved the Hudson River.”

This event is part of a larger initiative to transition Clearwater’s educational and environmental programming online in order to continue its important Hudson River education and environmental work during a time when gathering in person is unsafe.

Virtual Revival will be live-streamed on October 4th from 11am-11pm. The online chat that accompanied the live feed became a place for new and old Revival attendees to connect with each other. Clearwater hopes that many people will join in again on the live commentary. 

Virtual Revival T-shirts are available for purchase here.

"Clearwater's work has always involved inspiring people to fall in love with the Hudson River and take action to protect it. Even now amidst the pandemic, that work continues," said Erik Fyfe, Clearwater's Education Director. "Despite the distance, we've been excited to be able to bring people to the river through virtual sails and interactive online programs, and the response so far has been terrific."

About Hudson River Sloop Clearwater 

Launched in 1969 by legendary folk singer and activist Pete Seeger, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater has been at the forefront of the environmental movement as champions of the Hudson River. To date, more than half a million people have experienced their first real look at an estuary’s ecosystem aboard the sloop Clearwater.   Clearwater has become the grassroots model for producing positive changes to protect our planet. For more information, visit www.clearwater.org.  

Clearwater To Host A Mother's Day Fundraising Concert In Memory of Toshi Seeger Sunday May 10th

Original, folk and grassroots activist musicians have been the heartbeat of Clearwater’s musical community; and over two dozen artists from around the country will be performing in a 12-hour Mother’s Day Tribute to Toshi Seeger on Sunday, May 10th from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The event will be curated by a favorite Clearwater Festival performer, Fred Gillen Jr.  

Tribute to Toshi Seeger

This Mother’s Day event will be a special tribute to Toshi Seeger, whose creative vision and environmental work made an enormous impact in the Hudson Valley, which lives on in Clearwater’s traditions still today. Beyond being an organizer, mother, road manager, photographer, and camera woman, Pete often credited his wife Toshi as being "the brains behind the operation.” Toshi also served on the Newport folk Festival board from its inception, insisting that they bring the musicians to the stage that were the mentors to the popular folk musicians of the ‘60s. She helped found Folklore Research Films, worked on the Rainbow Quest TV Series, produced by Sholem Rubenstein. Toshi was also the Executive Producer of "The Power of Song." She booked many musicians for Clearwater’s Great Hudson Revival, started the groundbreaking Litter-Picking & Recycling initiative and ensured wheelchair accessibility and ASC Interpretative Signing at the Festival. 

Story tributes to Toshi Seeger will happen throughout the day by musicians, Seeger family members and others.

Facebook Live Concert Lineup

The Facebook Live concert will raise much needed funds for Clearwater’s critical environmental action initiatives and educational programming.  Performers and presenters include: David and Jacob Bernz, Laura Bowman, Tom Breiding, Sarah Browne, Kitama Cahill-Jackson, Julie Corbalis, John Cronin, Moraya DeGeare, KJ Denhert, Emma's Revolution, Susan Fisher Wright, Lori Frazer-Gross, Fred Gillen, Jr, Shirl and Steve Kaplan of Great Blue, Manna Jo Greene, Lisa Gutkin, Reggie Harris, Markley & Balmer, Mel and Vinnie, Rick and Donna Nestler, Tinya Seeger, Carolann Solebello, Spook Handy, and Matt Turk. 

Click here to see the full schedule and concert lineup —  https://www.facebook.com/events/3086082568081247/

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis and leaves many of us unable to be together on Mother’s Day.  We hope to bring families together and share some music in the spirit of Clearwater’s folk and grassroots tradition.

This concert and other Clearwater fundraising efforts support the important environmental work, which includes:

• promoting safe decommissioning of nuclear power plants, including Indian Point. Clearwater sponsored the ground-breaking Fall 2019 Regional Decommissioning Forum whose information was the foundation of legislative policy in 2020 for a state-wide Decommissioning Oversight Board of New York State agencies; 

• opposing new fossil fuel plants such as the proposed Danskammer expansion;

• participating in the investigation of industrial runoff into the Hudson River from riverfront communities;

• promoting the cleanup of PFOS, which contaminated Newburgh’s drinking water supply, from the source at Stewart Air National Guard Base; 

• ensuring accountability in the ongoing participation in the Hudson River PCB remediation;

• and building a renewable energy future with the development of a seven-county Mid-Hudson Regional Renewable Energy Implementation Plan. 

More information about this Mother’s Day Tribute to Toshi Seeger fundraising event will be available at https://www.facebook.com/events/3086082568081247/.

About Hudson River Sloop Clearwater 

Launched in 1969 by legendary folk singer and activist Pete Seeger, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater has been at the forefront of the environmental movement as champions of the Hudson River. To date, more than half a million people have experienced their first real look at an estuary’s ecosystem aboard the sloop Clearwater.   Clearwater has become the grassroots model for producing positive changes to protect our planet. For more information, visit www.clearwater.org.  

Clearwater's Community Response To COVID-19

PUBLISHED: Wednesday, March 18, 2020

This is a message from Greg Williams, Executive Director of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.

In the spirit of Clearwater’s founding mission, to protect the happiness and health of the Hudson River, we feel that it is just as pertinent to take precautions to promote safety and health within our community. 

As you are well aware, due to the recent Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, health officials have cautioned against large gatherings to reduce any further spreading of the disease. 

Clearwater is adapting and responding, so that we can continue our important work of protecting the Hudson River and advocating for a just, clean energy future.

First, we're prioritizing the health of our volunteers, activists, staff, crew and entire community. The COVID-19 pandemic is a social and economic justice issue, as well as a health crisis. and we recognize that each of us have a social responsibility to be good actors in keeping others safe, too.

Our hope is that the country’s collective participation will help change the outcome of what COVID-19 brings to the human race; and prove that together, we can do even greater things for our environment.

Here are some specific steps that Clearwater is taking: 

• To support students spending time at home and teachers working diligently to keep their students engaged and energized, we are developing online education opportunities that allow students to explore and experience the Hudson River and the Sloop from afar. 

• We anticipate that many of our upcoming education programs (Tideline, Sailing Classroom, and In-School) will be affected as we implement necessary social distancing measures to protect our community. We will be in touch directly with the groups who scheduled for upcoming programs.

• We are canceling our Clearwater Community Celebration scheduled for June 20 and 21 at Croton Point Park. Due to caution against travel, ticket sales and travel arrangements for the Community Celebration will be severely impacted. We understand the disappointment that our Clearwater family may feel in lieu of this unprecedented situation, and appreciate your understanding. 

• We are requiring office staff to work from home until further notice. You can still reach our staff by email or phone, (845) 265-8080. 

We will be happy to hear from you.

Ways To Support

Spring is a financially challenging season for Clearwater even in our best years. For an organization designed to bring people together, isolation and social distance are especially difficult. The prospect of cutting back our events and education programs for weeks or months presents a new and perhaps greater threat than Clearwater has ever faced. To make it through this, we need your support.

Call To Action

While we are taking this time to step back from public gatherings, we will continue our efforts to keep our waters protected in the digital world. A meaningful step that you can take today to protect the Hudson and surrounding communities, is to submit comments to the Nuclear Regulatory Committee against the sale of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant to an unqualified, untrustworthy company called Holtec. 

Digital Communities

While we may not be able to meet in public, we are continuing to build a strong community online. Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter,  Instagram or YouTube to stay connected. You can also visit our website, Clearwater.org.

We would like to express our gratitude for your continued support, and partnership in our mission toward protecting the health and wellness of both our beloved Hudson River, and our community. 

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater Opens Tickets For Fundraiser At The Garrison - Spirit of the Hudson Gala - March 1st

Hot off our desks at A Little Beacon Blog, please find this press release from Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.

Tickets are now available for this year’s Clearwater’s 5th Annual Spirit of the Hudson Gala, Sunday, March 1, 2020, from 3 to 7 pm. The event will also honor Tom Chapin with the Spirit of the Hudson Award and celebrate his 75th birthday. The Gala will include food, music, auction items, and more. You can purchase your tickets online.

"I’ve performed with Pete (Seeger), played the Revival, and supported Clearwater in many ways over the decades,” said Chapin. “Now I feel blessed to celebrate my 75th birthday among the wonderful people who, like me, want to ensure the protection and preservation of our mighty Hudson River. I hope you will join us on March 1st at The Garrison."

For over 50 years, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater has been at the forefront of the environmental movement as champion of the Hudson River, working to pass landmark legislation like the Clean Water Act, and providing innovative educational programs, environmental advocacy, and musical celebrations, including the renowned annual Clearwater Festival, to inspire, educate, and activate millions of people. Musician and activist Pete Seeger along with several friends had a vision to build a majestic replica of the sloops that sailed the Hudson in the 18th and 19th centuries, that would bring people to the river where they could experience its beauty and be moved to preserve it. Inspired by that vision, the organization began with the launch of the sloop Clearwater in 1969 —a majestic 106-foot-long replica vessel that is recognized today as America’s Environmental Flagship.

Gala funds support Clearwater’s environmental advocacy and education programs on the Hudson River. The event will be held at The Garrison (2015 US Route 9, Garrison, NY) and tickets can be purchased online by clicking here.

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit, member-supported corporation whose mission is to preserve and protect the Hudson River, its tributaries and related bodies of water. 

Only 529 Tickets Available For Clearwater's The Great Hudson River Revival 2020 After Required Downsizing

Clearwater’s The Great Hudson River Revival will be produced on a much smaller, intimate scale as compared to years past, with tickets for 529 attendees only. Normally a million-dollar event, last year’s festival suffered a financial loss of $190K due to a rainy forecast, according to the organizers. The organization has been working its way out of that loss since June 2019.

For many years, The Great Hudson River Revival was Clearwater’s most important annual fundraiser. It has since grown into the country's oldest music and environmental festival, uniquely spreading environmental awareness, education and activism. With no corporate sponsorship, this loss made a big impact on the organization.

“The Great Hudson River Revival was a major success last year, in the sense that thousands of people joined us to celebrate the Hudson River through music, dance, volunteerism, education and activism,” said Clearwater Executive Director Greg Williams in a press release. “Due to many factors, including a wet weather forecast and rain on Sunday causing low attendance, the festival suffered a financial loss of approximately $190K. Since June, we have been working to keep the organization stable, while paying down our debt to festival vendors, and we are grateful for their patience. It would be irresponsible of Clearwater to move forward with replicating another million-dollar Clearwater Festival in 2020 without having addressed the financial loss we incurred in 2019. We expect that these steps, with the public’s ongoing support, will put us in the best position to return with Revival in 2021."

Williams continued in the press release: "We hope that our transparency will give the public some confidence that we keep our mission close at heart; to continue the work that we do year-round on the Hudson, educating and inspiring the next generation of environmental leaders.”

The Community Celebration for June 2020 will be a unique and intimate event for 529 attendees. Attendance will be very limited due to venue space capacity, but will provide a familiar welcoming weekend of unity, action, education, food, music, crafts, and merrymaking.

Details about the 2020 Great Hudson River Revival will be announced soon. Clearwater expects to return to a full-scale event in 2021, re-envisioned as a sustainable, less-commercial event, according to the press release.

For 2020, a Clearwater Community Celebration will take place on Saturday and Sunday, June 20 and 21, on the festival’s traditional Father’s Day Weekend on a smaller portion of Croton Point Park, in Croton-on-Hudson, NY.

Other Ways To Donate In The Meantime

To contribute to Clearwater’s ability to continue to hold festivals, and/or other programming, you can ​click here​. You can choose whether to have your donation committed to a specific program, or to be used where it is most needed.

You can ​sail on ​Clearwater ​​this sailing season, ​volunteer on the sloop​, help
out with ​winter maintenance​, attend one of their ​events​ this year, or make a donation.​