Little Harpeth River Photos

All these photographs were taken in Deerwood Arboretum and Nature Park is in Brentwood in Williamson County.

The park is 27 acres in Brentwood and borders the Little Harpeth River. There are waking and biking trails lined with 69 species of native trees and a Nature Center Complex with an outdoor classroom.

Photos: Judy Butler 2004

I Am the River: Poem by Ian Memard

I Am the River

Ian Menard
Page High Sophomore, 1994

I am the river, the raging foe who will always be your friend.
Sit and listen to my wisdom.
Lay on my banks of knowledge and dream the world of imagination.
Soar to the heavens, while I whisper words of comfort.

I am the river.
With all my soothing sounds,
I calm the troubled spirit.
I give soundless advice to those who seek, yet my mysteries will never be revealed.

I am the river.
I hold the powerful secrets of old.
I am life, breath me, drink me, savor me.
With my healing waters, you can forget the worries that hold you.
I can expand your knowledge, use me, if you will.

Note: This poem is on the marble wall at the Bicentennial Wall in downtown Nashville. Ian’s work is side by side with Wilma Dykman, Langston Hughes, and Mark Twain. At the time Ian wrote this poem he was in an English class at Page High School in Williamson County. The assignment was to write a poem personifying the river. His teacher saved his poem and sent it to Judy Butler.

Judy was contacted by the Bicentennial Mall Planning Committee and asked if she knew of any good student poems or essays about rivers. The committee was designing a monument to commemorate rivers of Tennessee. This is the poem that was submitted and then chiseled into granite for ever.

For information about the Harpeth River Environmental and Educational Project (HREEP) contact:
Judy Butler
judy@judybutler.com

Teachers, do you have really great student work that needs to be published? Click on the comments button below and send us those poems and essays.

Art Along the River

One of my favorite places to draw is sitting on the banks of the river. Wildflowers are abundant along the the water's edge all over Tennessee. One person's weed is another's beautiful wildflower.

To the left is a sample from my Journal with wildflowers of the Harpeth River. I keep my camera handy to take photographs so I can review the botanical structure when I am not looking directly at the flower.

Many flowering shrubs attract butterflies like the Bottle Brush to the right in another journal entry.

Click the comments button below to share how you or your students use the river as inspiration for drawing, photography, or writing.

Why Use Rivers As A Science Laboratory

Using a river or stream as a science laboratory provides a venue for students to ask important questions. When studying water quality, vegetation along the stream bank, or the geology of the rocks that line the water's edge, students have a vested interest in what they are learning. When they turn on the faucet in their kitchen and pour a glass of water they now think about what they are drinking. Where did it come from and where has it been? What is involved in the process of purification to make it safe and healthy to drink? What is the impact of the community in the quality of water in that glass?

Inquiry into real issues and the scientific research to support the questions and answers is the foundation of good education. The teacher’s role is to set the stage, provide the tools, and give permission for the time to think about what is important in their lives.

(Picture: Students in the NASA Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Aerospace Academy sponsored by Tennessee State University. Students are analyzing the rocks along the Harpeth River's edge June 2007 (see SEMAA website: SEMAAnashville.com).

Posted by Judy Butler

Click the comments button to share how you use research about water quality or other science topics with your students focusing on river themes.

Welcome Teachers Attending The River Inside Workshop

Welcome to all the teachers attending the workshop at the
Tennessee State Museum on July 21, 2008
featuring the up coming exhibit of John Guider.

Posted by
Judy Butler


Photo Credit: Judy Butler 2007

Click the comments button below to tell us something you enjoyed about the River Inside workshop at the Tennessee State Museum.