Talk

From Trash to Treasure: Reconnecting with Urban Streams

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 - 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Advance Registration Required
Yes

Event Details

Female scientist wearing a green rain jacket crouches in a stream smiling at the camera, beside a V-shaped weir with water flowing over it.
Rebecca Hale in a SERC stream, with a V-shaped weir for making measurements. (Photo: Kristen Goodhue)

We often think of cities in opposition to nature. But cities have a rich natural history, including many freshwater ecosystems. Urban streams and rivers have been used as dumps for human waste and trash and have been buried, channeled or armored to protect cities from flooding. But urban streams also provide important sources of water, spiritual values, recreation, and an opportunity to connect with nature. On July 15, urban stream ecologist Rebecca Hale will reveal how people are creating new relationships with streams and rivers that reconnect city dwellers with urban nature and each other. Part of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center’s 60th anniversary webinar series.

This event will be hosted entirely online, and it will be recorded. Closed captions will be available at the live event and on the recording. By signing up on Zoom, you will also receive a link to the recording a few days after the live event.

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See more SERC science webinars