Walkway Connections (For Kids!): Connecting Forests and Boatbuilding

Discover how trees become boats on Friday, August 21 from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. at Walkway Over the Hudson’s East Gate Plaza in Poughkeepsie! Join Caitlin Chung of Hudson River Sloop Clearwater for a fun, hands-on exploration of the trees growing all around us. Kids will learn how different trees grow, investigate what makes their wood unique, and understand why some types of wood are better for certain jobs than others. Then, find out how shipbuilders put those differences to work! Using the historic Sloop Clearwater as an example, Caitlin will show how shipwrights choose different woods to build, repair, and care for a real wooden sailing ship on the Hudson River. Come ready to explore, ask questions, and see trees – and boats – in a whole new way! Caitlin is an environmental educator with the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater. She grew up in Albany, studied Environmental Studies at Yale University, and is happy to be back in the Hudson Valley. All Walkway Connections events are free to attend and appropriate for all ages. Walkway Connections is supported in part by the Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area and The M&T Charitable Foundation.