World Premiere: A River Reborn

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, in partnership with PennEnvironment, is proud to present the world premiere of A River Reborn (2021). Too often we are inundated with lessons on how humanity has failed the environment. But there are success stories out there, and this film showcases one of them. A River Reborn demonstrates the opportunities that can arise as we work to reverse past failures of stewardship — a lesson to recall while we, as a global society, fight to mitigate the effects and acceleration of climate change.

Following a live virtual viewing of the film (approx. 30 minutes), there will be a live discussion featuring the film’s director/producer and environmental experts.

Moderator:

Carol Collier

Senior Advisor for Watershed Management and Policy The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University

Panel:

Ben Kalina

Director and Producer of A River Reborn Assistant Professor of Film & Television, Drexel University

R John Dawes

Executive Director, Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds

David Masur

Executive Director, PennEnvironment

A River Reborn (2021)

As the Little Conemaugh River winds through Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Mountains, it forms the backbone of a region with a legacy of industrial might. Like a scribe, the river carries the weight of that history, as mile after mile runs empty of life, poisoned by toxic pollution from countless abandoned coal mines. Generations of residents and neighbors of the river have turned their back on it, believing the damage?to be irreversible, scolding?their children for playing in its orange waters.?But a decade-long effort from a coalition of local groups has begun to suggest a different future for the Little Conemaugh and for other rivers in Pennsylvania and beyond, long written off as casualties of the coal industry. A River Reborn tells the story of the rebirth of the Little Conemaugh and what it reveals about our ability to fix what might have been lost forever.?