Closing Art Reception Delaware Dreams @ D&R Greenway Nov. 8

Press Release

Princeton-- D&R Greenway Land Trust will host a closing reception for the exhibition Delaware Dreams: Return to the River on Thursday, November 8, 6:30 p.m., with a talk by photographer Frank Sauer on the technologies for capturing the beauty of plants and flowers found in the Delaware River watershed. In his presentation, Sauer will make the case for local photography: “One does not need to travel to faraway National Parks to find beauty in nature,” he says. “There is beauty in our own local nature, and conserving this neighborhood nature is of greatest importance.” The exhibition, on view through November 9, highlights the beauty and mystery of the river on which 15 million people depend for drinking water. Artists include Sara Anne Abo-Harb, Bob Barish, Kate Graves, Erica Harney and Frank Sauer. The November 8 talk and reception are free to attend; please call (609) 924-4646 or rsvp@drgreenway.org to register. Gallery hours Monday-Friday,10 a.m.-5 p.m. D&R Greenway’s Johnson Education Center is located at One Preservation Place, Princeton. www.drgreenway.org.

“The four artists in ‘Delaware Dreams’ explore the tidal waters of the river, the bridges that span its shores where wildflowers and grasses proliferate and the genetically distinct population of Atlantic sturgeon whose numbers are now seriously compromised,” says D&R Greenway Curator Diana Moore.

“D&R Greenway was founded to protect water quality in the D&R Canal and Delaware River and its tributaries,” says D&R Greenway President & CEO Linda Mead, reminding us that five percent of the U.S. population depends on the Delaware for its drinking water. The Delaware is the longest dammed river in the United States east of the Mississippi, extending 330 miles from the confluence of its East and West branches at Hancock, New York to the mouth of the Delaware Bay where it meets the Atlantic. At the November 8 reception, Mead will discuss why it is so important to protect and care for the Delaware River watershed. D&R Greenway is an active member of the Alliance for Watershed Education. “Our preserved land in the Sourlands protects headwaters of seven streams that flow into the D&R Canal and impact water quality,” Mead continues.

“We have permanently preserved lands in Delaware Township and West Amwell (Hunterdon County) and in Hopewell, Ewing, Trenton and Hamilton (Mercer County), as well as in Bordentown (Burlington County). These are all along the Delaware River or its tributaries.”

Another major D&R Greenway preservation success is the Abbott Marshlands, which boasts more than 1,200 species of plants and animals. Sauer will talk about photographing flowers and plants up close in such protected areas, presenting useful methods for those who want to inventory and create beautiful photographs of the natural world.

In the last decade, Sauer has explored Princeton's neighborhood nature with camera in hand, beginning in his own backyard. “I learned how much can be discovered even in small spaces, and how much change can be observed from morning to evening, from season to season, from year to year,” he says. Photographs from his walks around the Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve have been exhibited at the Arts Council of Princeton, and his 20 photos in Delaware Dreams are intimate portraits of flowers, blossoms and grasses, all taken in Princeton.

"’Delaware Dreams’ celebrates the beauty and life-giving qualities of this river that runs through our lives," says Mead.

“There could well be signs along the Delaware’s New Jersey and Pennsylvania shores that say, The ocean begins here,” notes Moore.

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D&R GREENWAY LAND TRUST IS IN ITS 29TH YEAR of preserving and protecting natural lands, farmlands and open spaces throughout central and southern New Jersey. Through continuous preservation and stewardship -- caring for land and easements to ensure they remain protected and ecologically healthy in perpetuity -- D&R Greenway nurtures a healthier and more diverse environment for people and wild species in seven counties. Accredited by the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission, D&R Greenway’s mission is to preserve and care for land and inspire a conservation ethic, now and for the future. Since its founding in 1989, D&R Greenway has permanently preserved more than 20,000 acres, an area 20 times the size of New York City’s Central Park, including 30 miles of trails open to the public. The Johnson Education Center, a circa 1900 restored barn at One Preservation Place, Princeton, is D&R Greenway’s home. Through programs, art exhibits and related lectures, D&R Greenway inspires greater public commitment to safeguarding land.