Schuylkill Corps Questionnaire: Danielle Kreeger

The Schuylkill River and Urban Waters Research Corps is a public, cooperative research project organized by Peter DeCarlo (Drexel), Danielle Redden (Bartram's Garden), and Bethany Wiggin (Penn). Formed in 2016, the Schuylkill Corps brings together artists, historians, community organizers, students and scholars together in a bi-weekly seminar to discuss their research and creative practices revolving around one central focal point, the Schuylkill River.

This interview with Danielle Kreeger, Senior Science Director for the Partnership for Delaware Estuary, is the first in an ingoing series of brief q & a's with seminar speakers that we will publish on an ongoing basis.

Danielle spoke on December 1, 2017 about the importance of natural infrastructure for supplying critical ecosystem services in the tidal Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers. The presentation focused on the Partnership’s plans for restoring mussel beds and working them into living shorelines with tidal wetlands, promoting diverse benefits for urban communities

Schuylkill Corps: What is your relationship to urban waterways?

Danielle Kreeger: I perform scientific research, guide regional restoration, and live on an urban waterway.

SC: How has this shaped or defined your work, research or creative practice?

DK: Effective environmental management and science depends on collaboration and sharing of outcomes, which the seminar promoted via networking and ideas exchange

SC: What stands out to you about waterways that run through cities?

DK: How underappreciated they are, despite their importance and often ecological vibrance.

SC: From your perspective, what is the future of urban waterways?

DK: Still threatened, but I am optimistic that a paradigm shift is underway, whereby they will become more valued for their economic and ecological benefits. This will lead to greater protection and enhancement, promoting healthier urban communities and ecosystems.

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