Have a great day on the water on the beautiful Potomac River while learning the basics of canoeing. Outfitter Byron Bradley will give you a hands-on learning experience with some basic canoe skills needed to navigate the river. Must RSVP to chapin@potomac.org by August 14th. Bring your own canoe or, if one is needed, reserve one when you send in your RSVP.

The River Center is open Saturdays and Sundays from May 3 through October 18 from 10 am ‘til 2 pm for tours of the lockhouse and interactive exhibits. Inside the River Center, the Conservancy installed a new exhibit, “Backyard to the Bay,” that connects what happens on the land and the health of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. Visitors are guided by the Potomac Conservancy’s volunteer docents who lead tours, answer questions and discuss the historical and cultural significance of the C&O Canal and the Potomac River to the regional economy and the local quality of life.

For additional information about the River Center at Lockhouse 8, contact Bridget Chapin (chapin@potomac.org) or visit http://www.potomac.org/site/discover-rclh8/.

About Potomac Conservancy
Since 1993, the Potomac Conservancy has protected the health, beauty, and enjoyment of the Potomac River and its tributaries. Its conservation programs address the goals of improving water quality, protecting the river’s scenic integrity, enhancing recreational resources, and building an informed and engaged constituency, using a range of tools, including restoration, permanent protection, advocacy, and citizen education and engagement.

Eco-historian Hayden Mathews will give an interactive talk which will weave regional history, natural history, and geology to interpret the forces and events that shaped both the Potomac River and the people that have lived on its banks for the past 12,000 years.
The River Center is open Saturdays and Sundays from May 3 through October 18 from 10 am ‘til 2 pm for tours of the lockhouse and interactive exhibits. Inside the River Center, the Conservancy installed a new exhibit, “Backyard to the Bay,” that connects what happens on the land and the health of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. Visitors are guided by the Potomac Conservancy’s volunteer docents who lead tours, answer questions and discuss the historical and cultural significance of the C&O Canal and the Potomac River to the regional economy and the local quality of life.

For additional information about the River Center at Lockhouse 8, contact Bridget Chapin (chapin@potomac.org) or visit http://www.potomac.org/site/discover-rclh8/.

About Potomac Conservancy
Since 1993, the Potomac Conservancy has protected the health, beauty, and enjoyment of the Potomac River and its tributaries. Its conservation programs address the goals of improving water quality, protecting the river’s scenic integrity, enhancing recreational resources, and building an informed and engaged constituency, using a range of tools, including restoration, permanent protection, advocacy, and citizen education and engagement.

Never get lost in the woods again! Clint Cosner, an expert surveyor with 25 years of experience, will lead an orienteering workshop for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts ages 8 and up. Participants will learn basic map reading and orienteering skills as well as the fundamentals of using a personal GPS.

Space is limited! Participants MUST RSVP to chapin@potomac.org by July 16. NOTE this is not the meetup rsvp.

The River Center is open Saturdays and Sundays from May through October from 10 am ‘til 2 pm for tours of the lockhouse and interactive exhibits. Inside the River Center, the Conservancy installed a new exhibit, “Backyard to the Bay,” that connects what happens on the land and the health of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. Visitors are guided by the Potomac Conservancy’s volunteer docents who lead tours, answer questions and discuss the historical and cultural significance of the C&O Canal and the Potomac River to the regional economy and the local quality of life.

For additional information about the River Center at Lockhouse 8, contact Bridget Chapin, chapin@potomac.org or visit http://www.potomac.org/site/discover-rclh8/.
. About Potomac Conservancy
Since 1993, the Potomac Conservancy has protected the health, beauty, and enjoyment of the Potomac River and its tributaries. Its conservation programs address the goals of improving water quality, protecting the river’s scenic integrity, enhancing recreational resources, and building an informed and engaged constituency, using a range of tools, including restoration, permanent protection, advocacy, and citizen education and engagement.

Please join us on Sat. July 11 for our Picnic on the Potomac from 4-7pm. We've planned a fun day of games, food, music, and more at Carderock Pavilion.
Potomac Conservancy will provide grillers, beer, water, and lemonade, but we ask that you bring a potluck dish. The Potomac River Ramblers will to fill the air with bluegrass and country music. Kids will enjoy face painting and games, while you spend time with others who share your love for the Potomac. You'll also have the chance to win door prizes. And don't forget to bring your dogs!
See www.potomac.org/site/annual-picnic/ for details and directions. If you'd like to pitch in at the picnic, volunteers are needed. Please contact Bridget Chapin at chapin@potomac.org to lend a hand (or flip some burgers).

Randa Steblez is impressed with the rich utilitarian history and folklore of common trees, weeds and wildflowers often overlooked by hikers as merely a blur of textured greenery. One may have a casual encounter along the Potomac with an Ash tree, but become better acquainted by discovering that the juice of its leaves was use by Native Americans as a snake bite remedy. Some other examples of close to home fame are the dandelion and the mullein plant, common and prevalent, but which figured so importantly in medieval pharmacology, that they were depicted in many well known tapestries.

These are just a couple of sketches, but there are many more "celebrities" along the path, some with fairly amazing histories. Her interpretive guidebook "Shoreline Plants of Lake Winnipesaukee" has been widely distributed in the New Hampshire Lake Region and she is currently working on a similar journal about the Potomac Canal.
The River Center is open Saturdays and Sundays from May 3 through October 18 from 10 am ‘til 2 pm for tours of the lockhouse and interactive exhibits. Inside the River Center, the Conservancy installed a new exhibit, “Backyard to the Bay,” that connects what happens on the land and the health of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. Visitors are guided by the Potomac Conservancy’s volunteer docents who lead tours, answer questions and discuss the historical and cultural significance of the C&O Canal and the Potomac River to the regional economy and the local quality of life.

For additional information about the River Center at Lockhouse 8, contact Bridget Chapin (chapin@potomac.org) or visit http://www.potomac.org/site/discover-rclh8/.

About Potomac Conservancy
Since 1993, the Potomac Conservancy has protected the health, beauty, and enjoyment of the Potomac River and its tributaries. Its conservation programs address the goals of improving water quality, protecting the river’s scenic integrity, enhancing recreational resources, and building an informed and engaged constituency, using a range of tools, including restoration, permanent protection, advocacy, and citizen education and engagement.