The Watersmith Journal
Welcoming NRS as a Green Line Sponsor for 2024!
We are thrilled to announce that NRS is joining the Watersmith Guild as a Green Line sponsor for 2024! This partnership is a testament to NRS’s exceptional dedication to equitable waterways access, conservation, and their instrumental role in our growth and success.
10-Years of First Waves
This video celebrates the 10th anniversary of the First Waves Program! Over the past decade, we've empowered countless youth through river surfing, environmental education, and community engagement. This milestone wouldn't have been possible without the incredible dedication of our volunteers, the generous support of our sponsors, the collaboration with our partners, and the enthusiastic participation of our amazing students. Thank you all for being a part of this incredible journey. Here's to many more years of making waves together!
Nature Works Film Screening and Youth Presentation
Despite the delay on future films, First Waves was able to have the first community screening of 2020 at the Nature Works event at Bottleworks Ethnic Arts Center shortly before the pandemic arrived. The event attracted a standing-room only crowd at the Black Box Theater – the same venue where First Waves Johnstown youth have learned to compile the films since 2015. This year, we even had one student present his film and share his story with the crowd. Public speaking is one of the most feared actions in the world, but his willingness and excitement to share his film, “Above the River,” was truly inspirational.
Breaking Waves at Mount Ararat
Nestled in the urban sprawl of Pittsburgh’s East End, The Mount Ararat Community Activity Center provides innovative programs and experiential learning to the area’s families and youth. Earlier this summer, the Center debuted a new program for a select group of students, part of which involved teaching them to surf in whitewater rivers. While surfing might be the last thing many think of in this landlocked region of Pittsburgh, that is exactly what Mentorship Director, Dr. Charles Howell, has brought to the Center through partnership with a local organization called, First Waves.
ADVENTURE FILMMAKING
At first glance, a group of teens yielding camera equipment and various electronics around water seems like a bad idea. Now, incorporate the instability of standup paddleboards, whitewater rapids, and the goal of scooping up every piece of trash we float by! “A recipe for catastrophe,” some will crow. At First Waves, our eyes bulge and mouths water at this morsel of contrast, challenge, and adventure.
