Today was the first day of the immersion and we got to spend the day with Sarah Taylor. She is a founder of the Braided River Campaign, as well as a midwife and a retired principal.
Learning about the history of the development of the river was very interesting. I didn’t know that the Willamette River was originally a braided river with many shallow branches and nearby ponds that supported the local indigenous tribes. However, it was altered to be a deep, single channel river. Furthermore, the heavy industrial infrastructure that has been built up has severely polluted the river and contaminated much of the riverbed’s sediment, making it harmful to swim or eat many of the river organisms.
It was also cool to see the gallery that Sarah Taylor and the Braided River Campaign created in the Lloyd Center. The gallery is full of the stories of many local marginalized people as well as interactive activities that address the local environmental and social justice issues.
Much of the conversations we had with her have inspired me to try to do more and attempt to get UP more connected with the community and with current environmental justice issues in the area.
-Jenner Easland