On April 25, we experienced the natural environment of the James River firsthand as we went rafting down the river past Belle Isle. While we rafted, we witnessed the wildlife of the James and observe how the contribution of the community is able bring back life to the James throughout the years. Although the tides were relatively low and calm, it allowed us to witness the urban integration from a distance. As the green environment around the Richmond skyline was our view as we moved downstream, the more environment diversity decreased as we moved towards the city. We saw much more diverse species of wildlife upstream away from the city compared to when we started moving towards the city. However, Richmond has done a very good job throughout the years after the dumping incidents, and it shows with the wildlife seeming to do very well around the river.
Coming into this trip, I expected it to be more of a high-water rafting experience, however, I enjoyed the calming water as we observed and reflected on what we learned in this course. I enjoyed this as it allowed us to use everything that we learned in class regarding the James River. As we moved further downstream, I reflected it to other similar cities with rivers or water sources nearby. An example is NYC or Atlantic City as they each have a body of water nearby but, it doesn’t have the integration of this water sources compared to that of Richmond. If these cities were able to have a similar integration to their rivers especially NYC, I believe that it would bring more aquatic biodiversity in the area despite the city being a major urban center.
View of the Richmond Skyline from the James River