Hope for area rivers flows from Fredericksburg film festival

Fredericksburg and the Rappahannock River have a rich history, and this bond was prominent at the recent Wild & Scenic Film Festival at the University of Mary Washington. River enthusiasts and filmmakers highlighted the positive effects that rivers bring to an area.

Ten films were selected to show the needs of various rivers, and each approached an environmental theme or message. Amongst the first films viewed, a theme surrounded the idea that the well-being of a fish upstream could predict the well-being of other fish hundreds of miles away downstream. The brook trout and the striped bass were used as one example. “As those fish go, so go our stripers down in Kent Island,” said a Maryland fisherman in a film called “A Journey Upstream.” Water quality is an issue here, too. “The biggest threat to the Chesapeake Bay is water quality,” said one of the narrators.

In the Rappahannock River, the salamanders “let you know how clean the water is,” said a representative from the Master Naturalists, who were there along with the Downtown Greenspace, the Sierra Club Rappahannock Group, Sustainability at the University of Mary Washington, and the Friends of the Rappahannock, which also sponsored the film festival.

In another film, the sport of fly fishing is linked to mental health. A man teaching his son to fly fish brings happiness even though the father was impacted by his upbringing in a rough neighborhood and the George Floyd murder more recently. “Fly fishing allowed me to reconnect with my sensitive side,” he said.

Other topics included migratory birds and dust storms, surfing the Kampar River in Indonesia, freshwater mussels, and an abandoned coal mine’s toxic runoff. Many of these films showcase a group or an individual grappling with a problem and working to find solutions.

A panel chose the films to cover community science, litter, outdoor recreation, ecotourism, wildlife, and more. While the films are meant to inspire and encourage conservation on a local level, they bring up topics that uncover other topics that go on and on. It’s like a game of “Whack-a-Mole” from an earlier era.

Brent Hunsinger, from the Friends of the Rappahannock group, noted the issues with water quality, for example. There are surface water intake regulations to consider, the Potomac River aquifer, the chemicals in the water, and the draught in 2023 were all considerations as a tidal program manager. It seems like an uphill battle all the way, but a film festival with upbeat messages presented positively is a good way to get these messages out.

“Our festival allows people to be hopeful,” he said.

The audience was a mixture of the Friends group, concerned environmentalists, students, and residents from the area.

Christine Thompson is a past member of the Friends group, which attended this festival years before. “I love thinking and learning what other organizations are doing,” she said.

She lives close to Old Mill Park and sees the trash left behind after a good park day. “I think it would be simple to just educate people,” she said. The Master Naturalists have a trash pickup day at Old Mill Park on their calendar.