PROJECT INTRODUCTION
After decades of stalled efforts and missed opportunities, Buffalo’s historic waterfront is becoming the heart of a downtown renaissance.
Watch If Our Water Could Talk
IF OUR WATER COULD TALK is a Buffalo Toronto Public Media multi-media initiative that includes a television documentary, a community forum on the future of the Outer Harbor, radio reports, a website, educational materials and community engagement. The television documentary weaves historical context with contemporary stories and characters connected to the water. It tells the story of water as a driving force in Buffalo’s rise through industrialization, its subsequent economic decline, and efforts by community leaders to re-connect communities to the water. The program evokes the beauty of the region’s water resources and captures the unique character of the Buffalo River. IF OUR WATER COULD TALK explores issues related to water resources in the region. It touches on conservation, environmental cleanup, community and public access, commercial and industrial development, and economic growth. IF OUR WATER COULD TALK strives to answer the question, “are we listening to the water?”
CLASSROOM RESOURCES
These educator resources are designed to be used with the program If Our Water Could Talk. They are recommended for teachers in elementary, middle and high schools.
WBFO REPORTS
Eileen Buckley explores the ‘HISTORY OF WATERWAYS’. The series also examines condition and concerns and how the water was turned around from the 1970's.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
There have been periods when Buffalo and Western New York have flourished and periods when the region has suffered hard times. Water has been a constant through it all.
BONUS VIDEOS
Rowing on the Buffalo River, Dinosaurs of the Industrial Age, A Trip up the Buffalo River , Stanley Spisiak: A Voice for the Water and an Extended interview with Jill Jedlicka.
LEARN MORE
Learn more about the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, Tifft Farm Nature Preserve, action planning for the Queen City Waterfront and just what is a brownfield site?
Funding forIf Our Water Could Talkis provided by HSBC and Honeywell. With additional funding from The Joy Family Foundation, Lawley Insurance and The Baird Foundation.